Houston, TX vs Urban Honolulu, HI
Moving from Houston to Urban Honolulu? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $851,163 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Urban Honolulu 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 $111,721 in Urban Honolulu, HI (+$11,721).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Urban Honolulu, HI: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 881 sqft in Urban Honolulu ($147 vs $567 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Urban Honolulu, HI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $35,760 | +$16,092 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $5,517 | +$433 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,900 | +$225 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $5,040 | +$3,204 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,100 | −$2,500 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $14,943 | +$7,544 |
| Total | $41,263 | $66,260 | +$24,998 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Urban Honolulu, HI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 111.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 2.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 31 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $6.34 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $851,163 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 8.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $567 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $2,980 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 14.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 4.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 11.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.28% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $5,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $550 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 46.6 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 66 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |