Houston, TX vs Springfield, MO
Moving from Houston to Springfield? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $272,938 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Springfield 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 $89,348 in Springfield, MO (−$10,652).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Springfield, MO: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 3,205 sqft in Springfield ($147 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Springfield, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $15,252 | −$4,416 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,830 | −$254 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,390 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,512 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $9,116 | +$1,717 |
| Total | $41,263 | $36,500 | −$4,762 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Springfield, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 3.91% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 4.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $272,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 2.4% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $156 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,271 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |