Houston, TX vs Roanoke, VA
Moving from Houston to Roanoke? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $301,139 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Roanoke 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 $91,448 in Roanoke, VA (−$8,552).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Roanoke, VA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 3,320 sqft in Roanoke ($147 vs $151 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Roanoke, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $16,836 | −$2,832 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,853 | −$231 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,080 | −$595 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,872 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $9,549 | +$2,150 |
| Total | $41,263 | $37,690 | −$3,573 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Roanoke, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $301,139 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 3.8% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $151 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,403 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |