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Houston vs Beaumont

Houston, TX  ·  Beaumont, TX

TL;DR

Houston cost-of-living index is 101 vs 88 for Beaumont (US = 100). Median home: $320,000 vs $195,000. Median rent: $1,262/mo vs $925/mo.

Source: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI · Census ACS, 2026-04-19

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Beaumont is 13% cheaper than Houston overall.

Written by Jere Salmisto, Founder & Quantitative Systems Builder, CalcFi·Reviewed by CalcFi Editorial·Last reviewed 2026-04-19

Home Price

Houston: $320,000

Beaumont: $195,000

Monthly Rent

Houston: $1,262/mo

Beaumont: $925/mo

COL Index

Houston: 101

Beaumont: 88

Median Income

Houston: $67,800

Beaumont: $57,200

Side-by-Side Comparison

Metric
Houston
Beaumont
Winner
🏠

Median Home Price

$320,000
$195,000
Beaumont
🏢

Monthly Rent (Median)

$1,262/mo
$925/mo
Beaumont
💰

Median Household Income

$67,800
$57,200
Houston
📋

Property Tax Rate

1.9%
1.8%
Beaumont
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Cost of Living Index

100 = national average

101
88
Beaumont
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Avg. Commute

29 min
22 min
Beaumont
📈

Unemployment Rate

4.2%
5.2%
Houston
👥

Median Age

34.5 yrs
36.2 yrs
Beaumont

What This Means For You

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Buying Power

A $100,000 salary in Houston has the same purchasing power as $87,129 in Beaumont — based on each city's cost of living index.

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Housing

Homes in Beaumont cost 39% more (-$125,000 extra). Expect a larger mortgage and down payment.

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Renting

Renting in Beaumont saves you $337/month — $4,044 per year. Median rent: $1,262/mo in Houston vs $925/mo in Beaumont.

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Property Taxes

On a median-priced home, Houston owners pay roughly $6,080/year in property taxes vs $3,510/year in Beaumont. That's a $2,570 annual difference.

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Local Earnings

Median household income is $67,800 in Houston and $57,200 in Beaumont. Beaumont residents earn 16% more — but remember to factor in cost of living.

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Daily Commute

Average commute is 29 minutes in Houston vs 22 minutes in Beaumont. Over a year, that's 3500 extra minutes (58 hours) of commuting in Houston.

Salary Equivalence

To maintain the same lifestyle when moving from Houston to Beaumont, here's the salary you'd need:

Salary in HoustonEquivalent in BeaumontDifference
$50,000$43,564-$6,436
$75,000$65,347-$9,653
$100,000$87,129-$12,871
$150,000$130,693-$19,307
$200,000$174,257-$25,743

* Calculated using cost of living indices (national average = 100). Does not account for state income tax differences.

Run the Numbers

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Mortgage Calculator

See monthly payments for homes in either city

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Rent vs Buy

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in these markets?

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Cost of Living

Full cost of living comparison tool

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Home Appreciation

Project future home value growth

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Affordability Calculator

How much home can you afford?

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Property Tax Calculator

Estimate taxes in Houston or Beaumont

Houston Calculators

→ Mortgage calculator for Houston→ Rent vs buy in Houston

Beaumont Calculators

→ Mortgage calculator for Beaumont→ Rent vs buy in Beaumont

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Houston vs Beaumont: Common Questions

Is Houston or Beaumont cheaper to live in?

Based on cost of living indices, Beaumont is cheaper overall. Houston has a COL index of 101 while Beaumont scores 88 (national average = 100).

How do home prices compare between Houston and Beaumont?

The median home price in Houston is $320,000 vs $195,000 in Beaumont — a difference of $125,000 (39%).

What salary do I need in Beaumont to match my Houston income?

Use the salary equivalence table above. For example, a $100K salary in Houston is equivalent to $87,129 in Beaumont in terms of purchasing power.

Which city has lower property taxes?

Beaumont has a lower property tax rate (1.8% vs 1.9%). On a median-priced home, that means paying $3,510/year vs $6,080/year.

How does rent compare in Houston vs Beaumont?

Median monthly rent: $1,262 in Houston vs $925 in Beaumont. Annualized: $15,144 vs $11,100.

What is the median household income in each city?

Houston: $67,800/yr. Beaumont: $57,200/yr (Census ACS).

Which city is better for remote workers?

Lower-cost Beaumont typically lets remote-workers keeping a coastal salary stretch further. Higher-cost cities usually win on amenities and labor-market depth.

Where does the data on this comparison come from?

Numbers are pulled from Zillow ZHVI/ZORI (home values, rent), the U.S. Census Bureau ACS (income), and BEA RPP (cost-of-living index). Each value is timestamped on the page.

How often is this comparison updated?

Source feeds refresh on their native cadence — hourly for mortgage rates, monthly for ZHVI/ZORI, annually for ACS. Page caches revalidate every 24 hours via Next.js ISR.

Does this comparison replace tax or financial advice?

No. This page is educational reference using public data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for material decisions.

Sources & Citations

  1. Zillow Research — Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and Observed Rent Index (ZORI) — zillow.com/research/data
  2. U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income, median age, commute time — census.gov/acs
  3. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (RPP) by state and metro — bea.gov/rpp
  4. Tax Foundation — effective property tax rates and state tax rates — taxfoundation.org
  5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — unemployment rates and regional CPI — bls.gov
  6. Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) — Cost of Living Index — coli.org
Methodology & Assumptions

City-level metrics (median home price, median rent, median household income, property tax rate, COL index, commute, unemployment, median age) are sourced from Zillow ZHVI/ZORI[1], Census ACS 5-year estimates[2], BEA Regional Price Parities[3], Tax Foundation[4], and BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics[5].

The Cost of Living Index uses 100 = national average (C2ER methodology[6]): values above 100 indicate a city is more expensive than the national average, below 100 less expensive.

Salary equivalence uses the ratio adjustedSalary = salary × (colDestination / colOrigin). This accounts for cost-of-living differences but does not model state income tax variation, which can be significant.

Annual property tax is computed as medianHomePrice × propertyTaxRate. Actual assessed value may differ from sale price. Effective rates vary within a metro; these are metro-wide medians.

Commute-hours calculations assume 250 working days/year and a round-trip commute. "Tied" in the comparison table means values within ±1% of each other.

Last reviewed reflects the maximum retrievedAt timestamp across every sourced dataset feeding this page. When any source refreshes, the next ISR revalidation (every 24 hours) picks the new date.

Cost of living data sourced from [6] C2ER, [2] U.S. Census Bureau, and [1] Zillow Research. Tax rates from [4] Tax Foundation. Last reviewed 2026-04-19.