What is the cost of living in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 104.5, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,095/month.

What is the median salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

The median salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is $69,330 annually (mean: $74,547). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

The violent crime rate in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area is 395 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

The state of TX has 9,061 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

Infant center-based childcare in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area averages $7,566 per year. Preschool averages $6,926/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands a good place to relocate?

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Life Score of 57.5/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ranks #248 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

BEA RPP 98.6 ranks #287 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.6
Cost index (US=100): $1,095
2BR rent / mo: $69,330
Median salary: 47.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ranks #248 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (47.7/100), with its strongest marks in climate and housing.

#248
of 387 US metros · Near median: 31,290,831
metro-area population: 395
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 9,061
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (3/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ranks #248 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,095/mo, median salary $69,330; LiveAbility Score 47.7/100, strongest in climate and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 98.6 ranks #287 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.6 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,095/mo.

LiveAbility 47.7/100 keeps Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands in the middle third (#248 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area is 3,246,270.

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

48 Top 64% higher than 36% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands MSA; housing RPP 104.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,095/mo.

Studio

$885

/month

1 Bedroom

$891

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,095

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,523

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,837

/month

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands wages and employment

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands posts 3,246,270 total employment with median salary $69,330 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$69,330

Mean Salary

$74,547

Total Employment

3,246,270

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,570
General and Operations Managers	$119,600
Retail Salespersons	$31,340
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,890
Registered Nurses	$99,830

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area from NCES.

Schools

9,061

Enrollment

5,491,723

Student:Teacher

14.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands's composite Life Score is 57.5/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

26/100

Weak

Wages

74/100

Strong

Rent

83/100

Elite

Crime

33/100

Weak

Schools

39/100

Below average

Childcare

76/100

Strong

Environment

86/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ranks #248 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 47.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (94/100)

Climate

94
Housing

83
Job market

74
Schools

61
Safety

33
Cost of living

26
Low hazard

4
Air quality

3

What this shows Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands's strongest dimensions are climate and housing; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 3/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to

St. Cloud St. George St. Joseph St. Louis State College Staunton-Stuarts Draft

Metros near Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands runs a $69,330 median salary at a 98.6 cost index, ranking #248 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.