City comparison
Albany, OR is about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,300 miles, or about 38 hours (about 4 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Albany, OR to Houston, TX takes about 3 h 39 min, covering roughly 1,800 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Albany, OR is on Pacific Time and Houston, TX is on Central Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Albany, it's 2 p.m. in Houston, which puts Albany 2 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Houston has a population of 2,296,253, vs 56,348 in Albany — about 40.8× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 18 sq mi for Albany.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Albany | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,194/mo | $1,235/mo | 3.4% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $321,600 | $235,000 | 36.9% higher in Albany |
| Median household income | $69,777 | $60,440 | 15.4% higher in Albany |
| Groceries index | 105.2 | 100.4 | 4.8% higher in Albany |
| Utilities index | 106.6 | 96.3 | 10.7% higher in Albany |
| Transportation index | 100.7 | 95.8 | 5.2% higher in Albany |
| Healthcare index | 100.6 | 95.2 | 5.7% higher in Albany |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Albany, you'd need $98,125 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 1.9% cheaper overall than Albany, OR, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 3% higher in Houston than in Albany. If you earn $80,000 in Albany, you'd need about $78,500 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.