Longview vs Houston leftover
You'd keep $498 more a month in Houston
$3,141/mo leftover in Houston vs $2,643 in Longview after tax and rent ($498 more). +$5,976 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Longview leftover
$2,643
a month after tax and rent
Houston leftover
$3,141
+$498 vs Longview
Compare Longview to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Longview.
Monthly gap
Longview → Houston
$498
more / month in Houston
$3,141 in Houston · $2,643 in Longview · 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, 194 households moved Longview → Houston (avg AGI $57,186). 201 went the other way. The whole move →
+$498 / mo
| Per month | Longview | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $7,931 | +$1,306 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,265 | $1,653 | +$387 |
| Take-home pay | $5,360 | $6,279 | +$919 |
| Rent | $832 | $1,188 | +$356 |
| Getting around | $570 | $572 | +$2 |
| Groceries | $363 | $380 | +$17 |
| Healthcare | $408 | $428 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $227 | $238 | +$11 |
| Everything else | $317 | $333 | +$16 |
| Left over | $2,643 | $3,141 | +$498 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$86,500
Household gross, versus $79,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Longview does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Longview, TX in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $991 and 219 sunny days; commutes average 24 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 → Longview →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Houston than Longview?
A one-bedroom is about $832 in Longview versus $1,188 in Houston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $498 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 Longview 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 Longview 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.