City comparison
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 | Billings | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,064/mo | $1,235/mo | 13.8% lower in A |
| Median home value | $285,300 | $235,000 | 21.4% higher in A |
| Median household income | $69,692 | $60,440 | 15.3% higher in A |
| Groceries index | 98.4 | 99.8 | 1.3% lower in A |
| Utilities index | 88.2 | 98.7 | 10.6% lower in A |
| Transportation index | 100.5 | 96.1 | 4.6% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 100.3 | 94.2 | 6.5% higher in A |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Billings, you'd need $110,346 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Billings, MT is about 9.4% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 23% lower in Billings than in Houston. If you earn $80,000 in Billings, you'd need about $88,277 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.