City comparison
Houston, TX is about 950 miles (1,500 km) from Wheaton, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,200 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 Wheaton, IL takes about 1 h 51 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 53,673 in Wheaton — about 42.8× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 11 sq mi for Wheaton.
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 | Wheaton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,673/mo | 35.5% higher in Wheaton |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $430,600 | 83.2% higher in Wheaton |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $113,523 | 87.8% higher in Wheaton |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 106.3 | 5.9% higher in Wheaton |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 84.3 | 14.2% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 100.2 | 4.6% higher in Wheaton |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 100.4 | 5.5% higher in Wheaton |
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 $105,603 in Wheaton to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Houston, TX is about 5.3% cheaper overall than Wheaton, IL, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 10% higher in Wheaton than in Houston. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $84,482 in Wheaton to keep the same standard of living.