Houston composite
58.0 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Houston vs New York
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 58.0
- Houston Life Score
- B+
- Houston grade
- 35.4
- New York Life Score
- F
- New York grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Houston scores higher on 5 (cost of living, rent, schools, childcare, environment) and New York on 2 (wages, safety). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Houston New York ◗
cost of living
26
1
wages
73
99
rent
83
5
safety
35
39
schools
43
6
childcare
76
19
environment
86
63
Houston and New York differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Houston has a cost-of-living index of 98.6 vs New York's 112.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $69,330 in Houston and $87,148 in New York. A 2-bedroom averages $1,095/mo vs $2,324/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Houston vs New York Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Houston and New York works out to $14,748 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Houston carries the same local purchasing power as $114,128 in New York - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 394.7 per 100,000 residents in TX vs 380.0 in NY, with property-crime rates of 2058.2 and 1661.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: TX lists 9,061 public schools at a 14.7:1 student-teacher ratio, while NY lists 4,812 schools at 11.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,566/yr in the Houston area versus $13,869/yr in New York - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Houston and New York are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
New York composite
35.4 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
23 pts
Houston cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
4 pts
New York safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Houston
Houston composite (Grade B+)
New York
New York composite (Grade F)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Houston | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.6 | 112.6 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 110.3 |
| Services | 95.3 | 127.0 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 148.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in New York gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Houston?
$
Equivalent in New York:
$114,128
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Houston: 98.6, New York: 112.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Houston | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $885/mo | $1,778/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $891/mo | $2,024/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,095/mo | $2,324/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,523/mo | $2,835/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,837/mo | $3,618/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Houston | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $69,330 | $87,148 |
| Total Employment | 3,246,270 | 9,414,820 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Houston (TX) | New York (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 394.7 | 380.0 |
| Property Crime | 2058.2 | 1661.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 9,061 | 4,812 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.7:1 | 11.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.4% | 7.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,566/yr | $13,869/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,109/yr | $12,979/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,926/yr | $11,679/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 2,342 | 697 |
| Water Systems | 4,620 | 2,242 |
| Superfund Sites | 70 | 122 |
| Water Violations | 35,693 | 5,536 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Houston | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 63.0 | 53.0 |
| Good Air Days | 10.1% | 42.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 46 days | 25 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 13/100 | 7/100 |
| Total Violations | 746,210 | 552,003 |
| Health-Based Violations | 162,945 | 26,817 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.2% | 94.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 67/100 | 99/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 33.0% | 0.6% |
| HPSA Designations | 1,119 | 560 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | TX | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 64/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 49.0 | 69.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 44.7 | 70.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston more expensive than New York? ▼
Houston has a cost of living index of 98.6 compared to New York's 112.6 (national average = 100). New York is 13.9 points above Houston on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Houston and New York? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,095/mo in Houston vs $2,324/mo in New York, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $885/mo to $1,778/mo.
How do salaries compare between Houston and New York? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $69,330 in Houston and $87,148 in New York, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Houston has the same purchasing power as $114,128 in New York.
Is Houston or New York safer? ▼
At the state level, TX has a violent crime rate of 394.7 per 100,000 residents compared to NY's 380.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2058.2 vs 1661.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Houston and New York? ▼
TX has 9,061 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1, while NY has 4,812 schools at 11.8:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of TX schools vs 7.1% in NY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare