City comparison
Austin, TX is about 150 miles (225 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 175 miles, or about 3 h 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 Austin, TX to Houston, TX takes about 18 min, covering roughly 150 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.
Houston has a population of 2,296,253, vs 958,202 in Austin — about 2.4× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 325 sq mi for Austin.
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 | Austin | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,235/mo | 25.4% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $235,000 | 96.4% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $60,440 | 43.2% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 100.4 | 6.6% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 96.3 | 15.8% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 95.8 | 0.9% higher in Austin |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 95.2 | 1.0% higher in Austin |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Austin, you'd need $95,127 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 4.9% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 16% higher in Austin than in Houston. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $76,102 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.