City housing comparison

Houston vs Dallas: Housing Costs Compared

Compare Houston, TX and Dallas, TX using 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year housing and income estimates.

Quick answer

Houston has lower reported median rent

Median gross rent is $111 lower per month in Houston. The income associated with a 30% rent target is $4,500 lower per year there.

This is a housing baseline, not an overall winner or a complete cost-of-living comparison.

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Compare housing costs using the same 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year definitions and calculations.

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Side-by-side data

Housing and income benchmarks

MetricHoustonDallas
Median gross rent$1,361/mo±$8 MOE$1,472/mo±$9 MOE
Income for 30% rent target$54,400±$300 derived MOE$58,900±$400 derived MOE
Median household income$64,813±$822 MOE$70,518±$817 MOE
Median home value$277,800±$3,403 MOE$320,700±$5,461 MOE
Home value-to-income4.3x4.5x
Owner-occupied homes42%42%

Decision signals

What the differences mean

01

Renting baseline

Houston has $111 lower reported monthly median gross rent. Keeping that rent near 30% of gross income corresponds to $4,500 less annual household income than in Dallas.

02

Household income context

Dallas reports $5,705 higher median household income. Citywide medians do not show an individual household's job offer, debt or family size.

03

Buying pressure

Houston reports a $42,900 lower median home value. Houston has the lower home value-to-income baseline by 0.3x. This does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance, maintenance or down payment requirements.

04

Ownership mix

Dallas has an owner-occupied share 0.4 percentage points higher. Ownership share describes occupied housing, not homes currently available for sale.

City guide

Houston, TX

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City guide

Dallas, TX

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Comparison questions

Which city has lower median rent?

Houston has lower reported median gross rent by $111 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

Which city needs less income for the 30% rent benchmark?

Houston has the lower reported annual income target by $4,500.

Does this compare total cost of living?

No. It compares housing, household income and ownership measures. Food, transportation, taxes, health care and live listings are outside the current scope.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Jul 11, 2026 at 11:49 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.