City comparison
Dubuque, IA is about 900 miles (1,500 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,100 miles, or about 19 hours 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 Dubuque, IA to Houston, TX takes about 1 h 50 min, covering roughly 900 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 59,315 in Dubuque — about 38.7× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 31 sq mi for Dubuque.
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 | Dubuque | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $915/mo | $1,235/mo | 35.0% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $178,000 | $235,000 | 32.0% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $63,520 | $60,440 | 5.1% higher in Dubuque |
| Groceries index | 94.0 | 100.4 | 6.8% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 82.2 | 96.3 | 17.2% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 93.3 | 95.8 | 2.6% higher in Houston |
| Healthcare index | 93.5 | 95.2 | 1.8% higher in Houston |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Dubuque, you'd need $124,378 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Dubuque, IA is about 19.6% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 60% higher in Houston than in Dubuque. If you earn $80,000 in Dubuque, you'd need about $99,502 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.