Overall
- Rochester
- 90.8
Diff +7.8 RPP
Rochester vs Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 8.6% more expensive than Rochester.
8.6% more expensive
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 8.6% more expensive than Rochester, MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.6 vs 90.8). A $100,000 salary in Rochester buys about the same as $108,597 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.8 (Rochester) vs 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands)
- $100k in Rochester ≈ $108,597 purchasing power in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
- Rents drives the gap (+25.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:TX 90.8→98.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MN × TX
- 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 Rochester would need to be in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands for the same purchasing power:
| In Rochester | In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,299 | +$4,299 |
| $75,000 | $81,448 | +$6,448 |
| $100,000 | $108,597 | +$8,597 |
| $150,000 | $162,896 | +$12,896 |
$ in Rochester = in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.8 → 98.6), 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.
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 8.6% more expensive than Rochester, MN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.8-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 25.9 points higher than Rochester. 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 Rochester corresponds to $108,597 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rochester
- 95.4
Diff +5.2 RPP
Services
- Rochester
- 87.4
Diff +7.9 RPP
Rents
- Rochester
- 78.6
Diff +25.9 RPP
| Category | Rochester | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.8 | 98.6 | +7.8 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 100.6 | +5.2 |
| Services | 87.4 | 95.3 | +7.9 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 104.5 | +25.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rochester 90.8
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Goods
Rochester 95.4
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Services
Rochester 87.4
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Rents
Rochester 78.6
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Rochester
90.8
Cost Index
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands more expensive than Rochester?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 8.6% more expensive than Rochester. The overall cost index is 98.6 vs 90.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands equals $100K in Rochester?
A $100,000 salary in Rochester has the same purchasing power as $108,597 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rochester and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Rents in Rochester are indexed at 78.6 while Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is at 104.5 (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.