Houston, TX vs Tucson, AZ
Moving from Houston to Tucson? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $343,580 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Tucson 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 $95,185 in Tucson, AZ (−$4,815).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Tucson, AZ: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,693 sqft in Tucson ($147 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Tucson, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $17,676 | −$1,992 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,841 | −$244 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,960 | +$285 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,668 | −$168 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,800 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $7,594 | +$195 |
| Total | $41,263 | $37,539 | −$3,724 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Tucson, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 3.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $343,580 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $186 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,473 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 41 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |