Waco vs Houston leftover
You'd keep $833 more a month in Houston
$3,162/mo leftover in Houston vs $2,329 in Waco after tax and rent ($833 more). +$9,996 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Waco leftover
$2,329
a month after tax and rent
Houston leftover
$3,162
+$833 vs Waco
Compare Waco to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Waco.
Monthly gap
Waco → Houston
$833
more / month in Houston
$3,162 in Houston · $2,329 in Waco · 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, 317 households moved Waco → Houston (avg AGI $52,798). 296 went the other way. The whole move →
+$833 / mo
| Per month | Waco | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,542 | $7,962 | +$1,421 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,241 | $1,662 | +$421 |
| Take-home pay | $5,301 | $6,300 | +$999 |
| Rent | $1,108 | $1,188 | +$80 |
| Getting around | $549 | $572 | +$23 |
| Groceries | $363 | $380 | +$17 |
| Healthcare | $408 | $428 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $227 | $238 | +$11 |
| Everything else | $317 | $333 | +$16 |
| Left over | $2,329 | $3,162 | +$833 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$81,500
Household gross, versus $78,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Waco does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Waco, TX in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,319 and 221 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 → Waco →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Houston than Waco?
A one-bedroom is about $1,108 in Waco versus $1,188 in Houston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $833 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 Waco 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 Waco 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.