Houston, TX vs Reno, NV
Moving from Houston to Reno? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $570,546 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Reno 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 $98,286 in Reno, NV (−$1,714).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Reno, NV: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 1,665 sqft in Reno ($147 vs $300 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Reno, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $23,736 | +$4,068 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,841 | −$243 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,740 | +$1,065 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,548 | −$288 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $5,060 | −$2,339 |
| Total | $41,263 | $41,225 | −$38 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Reno, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 98.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 9.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $570,546 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $300 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,978 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |
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