Overall
Diff +3.8 RPP
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is 3.8% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
3.8% more expensive
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL is 3.8% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.4 vs 98.6). A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands buys about the same as $103,841 in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands) vs 102.4 (North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota)
- $100k in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ≈ $103,841 purchasing power in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
- Rents drives the gap (+23.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:FL 98.6→102.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × FL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -4.4 RPP
Services
Diff -7.1 RPP
Rents
Diff +23.4 RPP
| Category | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.6 | 102.4 | +3.8 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 96.2 | -4.4 |
| Services | 95.3 | 88.2 | -7.1 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 128.0 | +23.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 102.4
Goods
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 96.2
Services
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 88.2
Rents
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 128.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is 23.4 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL is 3.8% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.8-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is above 100 while Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
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 $103,841 in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota.
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
102.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands would need to be in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota for the same purchasing power:
| In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | In North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,920 | +$1,920 |
| $75,000 | $77,880 | +$2,880 |
| $100,000 | $103,841 | +$3,841 |
| $150,000 | $155,761 | +$5,761 |
$ in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands = in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.6 → 102.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is 3.8% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. The overall cost index is 102.4 vs 98.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota equals $100K in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has the same purchasing power as $103,841 in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota?
Rents in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are indexed at 104.5 while North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is at 128.0 (national average = 100). North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 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.