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 | Sterling Heights | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,215/mo | 1.6% higher in A |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $243,400 | 3.5% lower in A |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $75,381 | 19.8% lower in A |
| Groceries index | 97.7 | 102.8 | 4.9% lower in A |
| Utilities index | 106.5 | 89.3 | 19.2% higher in A |
| Transportation index | 97.3 | 93.0 | 4.6% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 90.9 | 93.7 | 3.0% lower in A |
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 $97,940 in Sterling Heights to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Sterling Heights, MI is about 2.1% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $78,352 in Sterling Heights to keep the same standard of living.