City comparison
Detroit, MI is about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,400 miles, or about 23 hours (about 2 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 Detroit, MI to Houston, TX takes about 2 h 13 min, covering roughly 1,100 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 636,787 in Detroit — about 3.6× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 140 sq mi for Detroit.
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 | Detroit | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $989/mo | $1,235/mo | 24.9% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $66,700 | $235,000 | 252.3% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $37,761 | $60,440 | 60.1% higher in Houston |
| Groceries index | 99.0 | 100.4 | 1.4% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 103.7 | 96.3 | 7.7% higher in Detroit |
| Transportation index | 102.7 | 95.8 | 7.2% higher in Detroit |
| Healthcare index | 103.4 | 95.2 | 8.6% higher in Detroit |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Detroit, you'd need $101,772 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Detroit, MI is about 1.7% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 11% higher in Houston than in Detroit. If you earn $80,000 in Detroit, you'd need about $81,417 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.