Lakeland, FL vs Houston, TX
Moving from Lakeland to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($298,816 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Lakeland vs Houston 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 Lakeland, FL, you'd need about $102,047 in Houston, TX (+$2,047).
Livability — Lakeland, FL: 69 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,096 sqft in Lakeland vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($162 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lakeland, FL | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,188 | $19,668 | −$2,520 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $5,085 | +$271 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,675 | −$1,125 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,836 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,600 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $4,036 | $7,399 | +$3,363 |
| Total | $41,693 | $41,263 | −$431 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lakeland, FL | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.63% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 12.9% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $298,816 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.2% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $162 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,849 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.73% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.5 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 68% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |