Overall
Diff -10.3 RPP
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria vs Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 9.4% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
9.4% less expensive
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 9.4% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.6 vs 108.9). A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria buys about the same as $90,582 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria) vs 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands)
- $100k in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ≈ $90,582 purchasing power in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
- Rents drives the gap (-46.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair DC:TX 108.9→98.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE DC × TX
- 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria would need to be in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands for the same purchasing power:
| In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $45,291 | $-4,709 |
| $75,000 | $67,936 | $-7,064 |
| $100,000 | $90,582 | $-9,418 |
| $150,000 | $135,873 | $-14,127 |
$ in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria = in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.9 → 98.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 46.6 points lower than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria corresponds to $90,582 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -4.2 RPP
Services
Diff -11.4 RPP
Rents
Diff -46.6 RPP
| Category | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.9 | 98.6 | -10.3 |
| Goods | 104.8 | 100.6 | -4.2 |
| Services | 106.7 | 95.3 | -11.4 |
| Rents | 151.1 | 104.5 | -46.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Goods
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Services
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Rents
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands more expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 9.4% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. The overall cost index is 98.6 vs 108.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands equals $100K in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria has the same purchasing power as $90,582 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Rents in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria are indexed at 151.1 while Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is at 104.5 (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.