Houston, TX vs Ogden, UT
Moving from Houston to Ogden? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $520,531 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Ogden at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Houston, TX, you'd need about $96,385 in Ogden, UT (−$3,615).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Ogden, UT: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,017 sqft in Ogden ($147 vs $248 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Ogden, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $19,560 | −$108 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,736 | −$349 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,450 | −$225 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,440 | −$396 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $9,433 | +$2,034 |
| Total | $41,263 | $39,818 | −$1,444 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Ogden, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 96.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 2.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 8.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.47 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $520,531 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $248 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,630 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |