City comparison
Houston, TX is about 950 miles (1,500 km) from Janesville, WI in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,200 miles, or about 20 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 Houston, TX to Janesville, WI takes about 1 h 55 min, covering roughly 950 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 65,669 in Janesville — about 35.0× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 35 sq mi for Janesville.
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 | Janesville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $993/mo | 24.4% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $186,600 | 25.9% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $68,610 | 13.5% higher in Janesville |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 94.0 | 6.8% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 90.5 | 6.4% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 99.2 | 3.6% higher in Janesville |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 99.4 | 4.4% higher in Janesville |
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 $89,255 in Janesville to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Janesville, WI is about 10.7% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 31% higher in Houston than in Janesville. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $71,404 in Janesville to keep the same standard of living.