Source: Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), Cost of Living Index, Q3 2020 (Data based on a survey of 277 urban areas, published October 2020).
*Metro areas represented by most dominant urban area. Riverside, California is among the 20 most populous MSAs, but did not submit COLI data.

The C2ER Cost of Living Index for Q3/20 reveals that Houston has the second lowest cost of living among the nation’s 20 most populous metropolitan areas. Houston’s overall after-taxes living costs are 4.2 percent below the average for all 277 urban areas participating in the survey. 

Among the nation’s 20 most populous metro areas, Houston’s housing costs are 51.2 percent below the average and 11.5 percent below the average for all U.S. metros. Excluding the two most expensive housing markets, New York and San Francisco — which tend to skew the average, Houston’s costs remain lower than the majority, with housing costs at 40.4 percent below the major metro average.