Laredo vs Houston leftover
You'd keep $870 more a month in Houston
$3,150/mo leftover in Houston vs $2,280 in Laredo after tax and rent ($870 more). +$10,440 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Laredo leftover
$2,280
a month after tax and rent
Houston leftover
$3,150
+$870 vs Laredo
Compare Laredo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Laredo.
Monthly gap
Laredo → Houston
$870
more / month in Houston
$3,150 in Houston · $2,280 in Laredo · 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, 230 households moved Laredo → Houston (avg AGI $55,239). 152 went the other way. The whole move →
+$870 / mo
| Per month | Laredo | 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 | $901 | $1,188 | +$287 |
| Getting around | $570 | $572 | +$2 |
| Groceries | $363 | $380 | +$17 |
| Healthcare | $408 | $428 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $227 | $238 | +$11 |
| Everything else | $317 | $333 | +$16 |
| Left over | $2,280 | $3,150 | +$870 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$80,500
Household gross, versus $74,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Laredo does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Laredo, TX in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,073 and 231 sunny days; commutes average 22 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 → Laredo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Houston than Laredo?
A one-bedroom is about $901 in Laredo versus $1,188 in Houston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $870 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 Laredo 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 Laredo 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.