* Chicago, Illinois and Riverside, California are among the 20 most populous MSAs, but did not submit COLI data.
Source: Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), Cost of Living Index, Q3 2021 (Data based on a survey of 263 urban areas, published October 2021)

Houston has the third lowest living costs among the most populous U.S. metro areas, according to the C2ER Cost of Living Index for Q3 2021. Houston’s living costs are 4.4 percent below the nationwide average and 25.6 percent below the average of the nation’s most populous metropolitan areas.

Only the St. Louis and Tampa metro areas are considered more affordable than Houston among the most populous metro areas, although the Houston metro’s population of 7.1 million is more than double the population of St. Louis (2.8 million) and Tampa (3.2 million).