City comparison
Houston, TX is about 900 miles (1,500 km) from Joliet, IL 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 Houston, TX to Joliet, IL takes about 1 h 49 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 150,221 in Joliet — about 15.3× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 66 sq mi for Joliet.
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 | Joliet | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,174/mo | 5.2% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $233,800 | 0.5% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $84,971 | 40.6% higher in Joliet |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 106.3 | 5.9% higher in Joliet |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 84.3 | 14.2% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 100.2 | 4.6% higher in Joliet |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 100.4 | 5.5% higher in Joliet |
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 $104,102 in Joliet to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 3.9% cheaper overall than Joliet, IL, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in Joliet than in Houston. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $83,282 in Joliet to keep the same standard of living.