Brownsville vs Houston leftover
You'd keep $929 more a month in Houston
$3,150/mo leftover in Houston vs $2,221 in Brownsville after tax and rent ($929 more). +$11,148 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Brownsville leftover
$2,221
a month after tax and rent
Houston leftover
$3,150
+$929 vs Brownsville
Compare Brownsville to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Brownsville.
Monthly gap
Brownsville → Houston
$929
more / month in Houston
$3,150 in Houston · $2,221 in Brownsville · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 607 households moved Brownsville → Houston (avg AGI $48,928). 494 went the other way. The whole move →
+$929 / mo
| Per month | Brownsville | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $7,945 | +$1,737 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,142 | $1,657 | +$515 |
| Take-home pay | $5,066 | $6,288 | +$1,222 |
| Rent | $979 | $1,188 | +$209 |
| Getting around | $551 | $572 | +$21 |
| Groceries | $363 | $380 | +$17 |
| Healthcare | $408 | $428 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $227 | $238 | +$11 |
| Everything else | $317 | $333 | +$16 |
| Left over | $2,221 | $3,150 | +$929 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$79,500
Household gross, versus $74,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Brownsville does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Brownsville, TX in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,166 and 233 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Houston on Houston wages.
Houston → Brownsville →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Houston than Brownsville?
A one-bedroom is about $979 in Brownsville versus $1,188 in Houston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $929 a month higher in Houston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Houston have state income tax?
Houston is in Texas, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Brownsville to Houston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Texas tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Brownsville and Houston moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.