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

Houston’s housing costs are 11.5 percent below the nationwide average and 51.2 percent below the average for the 20 most populous U.S. metros, according to the C2ER Q3/20 Cost of Living Index. Lower housing costs are one of the reasons Houston’s overall living costs are 26.1 percent below the large-metro average. (This housing index is based 71.0 percent on homeownership and 29.0 percent on rental occupancy).

Excluding the two most expensive housing markets—New York and San Francisco—which tend to skew the average, Houston’s housing costs are still 40.4 percent below the major metro average.