What salary do you need to live in Houston, TX?
Rent of $1,438 for a typical two-bedroom, a median home value of $298,000 and a price level 1.4 points below the national average: those three figures decide how far a salary goes in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro. Here is what they add up to at different incomes.
Rent, home values and prices in Houston
Renters in Houston pay a median $1,438 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $1,214, three bedrooms $1,773, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $6,708 a year.
The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $298,000. That works out to 3.6× the local median household income of $82,168, a mid-range ratio.
Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Houston's overall prices at 98.6 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $101,390 would elsewhere.
The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Houston
For two bedrooms, $179,000 is where Houston turns Comfortable. Below that, $89,000 marks the start of Okay and $44,000 the start of Tight; under $44,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 10% of gross pay.
Reaching Royal takes $590,000 — 3.3× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.
Nothing here is a separate rule of thumb; plug any of these incomes into the calculator with two bedrooms and Houston shows the matching grade.
| Grade | Starts at | Rent ÷ income | Home ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal | $590,000 | 3% | 0.5× |
| Comfortable | $179,000 | 10% | 1.7× |
| Okay | $89,000 | 19% | 3.3× |
| Tight | $44,000 | 39% | 6.8× |
Scores at $50K, $75K, $100K and $150K in Houston
On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 43 and a three-bedroom 37, both Tight; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.
None of the four salaries reaches Comfortable for two bedrooms; even $150,000 scores 60, Okay, which fits the $179,000 line above.
| Income | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 31 · Tight | 29 · Tight | 25 · Tight |
| $75,000 | 43 · Tight | 40 · Tight | 37 · Tight |
| $100,000 | 51 · Okay | 48 · Okay | 45 · Okay |
| $150,000 | 63 · Okay | 60 · Okay | 57 · Okay |
How Houston ranks among 387 metros
Out of 387 metros, Houston has the 101st highest price parity and the 85th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it near the middle on overall prices and in the most expensive quarter on rent.
Corvallis, OR ($1,442) and Richmond, VA ($1,438) bracket Houston on two-bedroom rent.
Houston vs. the rest of Texas
Statewide, Texas's median two-bedroom rent is $1,395 and its median home value $283,800. Houston's rent is +3% against that, and its home value +5%; the price parity is 98.6 versus 97.1 for the state.
The Texas figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $166,000 against $179,000 for Houston.
Looking for somewhere comparable without leaving Texas? San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, Midland, TX, and Odessa, TX have the closest mix of rent and overall prices.
| Metro | 2-bed rent | Median home | Price parity | Comfortable from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | $1,438 | $298,000 | 98.6 | $179,000 |
| San Antonio, TX | $1,389 | $278,800 | 94.7 | $155,000 |
| Midland, TX | $1,588 | $309,400 | 95.8 | $180,000 |
| Odessa, TX | $1,302 | $200,200 | 93.9 | $127,000 |
The median Houston household
A household at the Houston median income of $82,168 would see a two-bedroom score of 43 — Tight — with rent at 21% of income. Reaching Comfortable would take $96,832 more than the median household earns. For Texas as a whole, the median household income of $78,476 scores 44 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.
These are pre-tax estimates from public statistics, not financial advice.
Score your own income in Houston
Enter your pre-tax income and home size to see Houston next to all 387 metros.
Open the calculatorSource: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional price parities by MSA (MARPP), line 1 "RPPs: All items"; metros per OMB bulletin 23-01, 2024 (released February 19, 2026); downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25031 Median Gross Rent by Bedrooms (_003/_004/_005 = 1/2/3 bedrooms), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25077 Median Value (Dollars), owner-occupied housing units, 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B19013 Median Household Income (display only), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.