Poughkeepsie, NY vs Houston, TX
Moving from Poughkeepsie to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Poughkeepsie 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 Poughkeepsie, NY, you'd need about $99,734 in Houston, TX (−$266).
Livability — Poughkeepsie, NY: 56 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in Poughkeepsie vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($200 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Poughkeepsie, NY | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,424 | $19,668 | −$6,756 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $5,085 | +$85 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,675 | −$220 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,836 | −$1,344 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,600 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $21,590 | $7,399 | −$14,191 |
| Total | $61,689 | $41,263 | −$20,426 |
Side by side
| Metric | Poughkeepsie, NY | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.18% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $147 |
| Median rent | $2,202 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.25% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 29.8 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |