City comparison
Houston, TX is about 750 miles (1,200 km) from Lincoln, NE in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 950 miles, or about 16 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 Lincoln, NE takes about 1 h 32 min, covering roughly 750 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 290,531 in Lincoln — about 7.9× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 100 sq mi for Lincoln.
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 | Lincoln | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $998/mo | 23.7% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $230,400 | 2.0% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $67,846 | 12.3% higher in Lincoln |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 94.3 | 6.4% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 78.2 | 23.2% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 93.3 | 2.6% higher in Houston |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 93.5 | 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 Houston, you'd need $88,124 in Lincoln to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Lincoln, NE is about 11.9% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 24% higher in Houston than in Lincoln. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $70,499 in Lincoln to keep the same standard of living.