City comparison
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 | Paterson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,392/mo | 11.3% lower in A |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $314,100 | 25.2% lower in A |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $52,092 | 16.0% higher in A |
| Groceries index | 97.7 | 95.7 | 2.1% higher in A |
| Utilities index | 106.5 | 92.4 | 15.2% higher in A |
| Transportation index | 97.3 | 86.0 | 13.1% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 90.9 | 90.4 | ≈ equal |
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 $101,158 in Paterson to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 1.1% cheaper overall than Paterson, NJ, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 11% lower in Houston than in Paterson. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $80,926 in Paterson to keep the same standard of living.