Salem, OR vs Houston, TX
Moving from Salem to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $97,340 in Houston, TX (−$2,660).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($268 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $19,668 | +$132 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $5,085 | −$154 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,675 | −$5 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,836 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $900 | $3,600 | +$2,700 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $7,399 | −$5,736 |
| Total | $44,194 | $41,263 | −$2,931 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 35 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |