Providence, RI vs Houston, TX
Moving from Providence to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $98,249 in Houston, TX (−$1,751).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($328 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $19,668 | −$6,288 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $5,085 | +$163 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,675 | −$200 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,836 | −$1,224 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $3,600 | +$1,900 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $7,399 | −$5,722 |
| Total | $52,634 | $41,263 | −$11,371 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $147 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |