Houston, TX vs Poughkeepsie, NY
Moving from Houston to Poughkeepsie? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Poughkeepsie 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 $100,267 in Poughkeepsie, NY (+$267).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Poughkeepsie, NY: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,500 sqft in Poughkeepsie ($147 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Poughkeepsie, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $26,424 | +$6,756 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $5,000 | −$84 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,895 | +$220 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $3,180 | +$1,344 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,600 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $21,590 | +$14,191 |
| Total | $41,263 | $61,689 | +$20,427 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Poughkeepsie, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $2,202 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 2.25% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 29.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |