• At 21.9 percent below the national urban average, Houston’s housing costs are the second lowest among the most populous U.S. metros, according to the C2ER Cost of Living Index 2025. Furthermore, housing costs in Houston are 51.1 percent below the average of the most populous U.S. metros. (This housing index is based 69.5 percent on homeownership and 30.5 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 42.0 percent below the major metro average.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

Leta Wauson
Research Director
[email protected]

Living in Houston

second lowest

Housing costs in Houston are the second lowest among the largest US metro