Overall
Diff -3.1 RPP
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
3.1% less expensive
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.5 vs 98.6). A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands buys about the same as $96,874 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands) vs 95.5 (Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood)
- $100k in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ≈ $96,874 purchasing power in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
- Rents drives the gap (-17.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:MI 98.6→95.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × MI
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands would need to be in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood for the same purchasing power:
| In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | In Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,437 | $-1,563 |
| $75,000 | $72,656 | $-2,344 |
| $100,000 | $96,874 | $-3,126 |
| $150,000 | $145,311 | $-4,689 |
$ in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands = in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.6 → 95.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.1-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 17.9 points lower than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands corresponds to $96,874 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -6.9 RPP
Services
Diff -1.5 RPP
Rents
Diff -17.9 RPP
| Category | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.6 | 95.5 | -3.1 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 93.7 | -6.9 |
| Services | 95.3 | 93.8 | -1.5 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 86.6 | -17.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 95.5
Goods
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.7
Services
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.8
Rents
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
95.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. The overall cost index is 95.5 vs 98.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood equals $100K in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has the same purchasing power as $96,874 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Rents in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are indexed at 104.5 while Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.