City comparison
Houston, TX is about 600 miles (1,000 km) from Huntsville, AL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 750 miles, or about 13 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 Houston, TX to Huntsville, AL takes about 1 h 13 min, covering roughly 600 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 215,025 in Huntsville — about 10.7× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 225 sq mi for Huntsville.
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 | Houston | Huntsville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,020/mo | 21.1% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $236,300 | 0.6% higher in Huntsville |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $67,874 | 12.3% higher in Huntsville |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 96.6 | 3.9% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 84.9 | 13.4% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 97.0 | 1.3% higher in Huntsville |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 96.5 | 1.4% higher in Huntsville |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Houston, you'd need $87,884 in Huntsville to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Huntsville, AL is about 12.1% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 33% higher in Houston than in Huntsville. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $70,307 in Huntsville to keep the same standard of living.