City comparison
Fort Worth, TX is about 225 miles (375 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 300 miles, or about 5 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 Fort Worth, TX to Houston, TX takes about 28 min, covering roughly 225 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 924,663 in Fort Worth — about 2.5× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 350 sq mi for Fort Worth.
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 | Fort Worth | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,313/mo | $1,235/mo | 6.3% higher in Fort Worth |
| Median home value | $250,300 | $235,000 | 6.5% higher in Fort Worth |
| Median household income | $72,726 | $60,440 | 20.3% higher in Fort Worth |
| Groceries index | 101.7 | 100.4 | 1.3% higher in Fort Worth |
| Utilities index | 89.3 | 96.3 | 7.9% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 98.5 | 95.8 | 2.9% higher in Fort Worth |
| Healthcare index | 99.7 | 95.2 | 4.7% higher in Fort Worth |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Fort Worth, you'd need $94,301 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 5.7% cheaper overall than Fort Worth, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 12% higher in Fort Worth than in Houston. If you earn $80,000 in Fort Worth, you'd need about $75,441 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.