Overall
Diff +10.3 RPP
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 10.4% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
10.4% more expensive
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 10.4% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.9 vs 98.6). A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands buys about the same as $110,398 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands) vs 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria)
- $100k in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ≈ $110,398 purchasing power in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
- Rents drives the gap (+46.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:DC 98.6→108.9
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × DC
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands would need to be in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria for the same purchasing power:
| In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $55,199 | +$5,199 |
| $75,000 | $82,798 | +$7,798 |
| $100,000 | $110,398 | +$10,398 |
| $150,000 | $165,596 | +$15,596 |
$ in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands = in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.6 → 108.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.
Rents leads the difference, with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 46.6 points higher 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 $110,398 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +4.2 RPP
Services
Diff +11.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +46.6 RPP
| Category | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.6 | 108.9 | +10.3 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 104.8 | +4.2 |
| Services | 95.3 | 106.7 | +11.4 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 151.1 | +46.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Goods
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Services
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Rents
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 10.4% more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. The overall cost index is 108.9 vs 98.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria equals $100K in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has the same purchasing power as $110,398 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Rents in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are indexed at 104.5 while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is at 151.1 (national average = 100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.