As the cost of living in Houston fluctuates, a financially stable income is getting harder to come by. A new study has revealed that Houstonians need to make nearly $15,000 more than they did last year to make living comfortable in 2025.
That's according to SmartAsset's latest report, "Salary Needed to Live Comfortably in U.S. Cities – 2025 Study" which examined data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator to determine the cost of living for a childless individual in the 100 largest American metro areas.
Single adults in Houston would need to make $90,064 a year to live a comfortable life in 2025, or $14,976 more than last year's salary requirements.
That's also a huge jump from SmartAsset's 2023 report, when single Houstonians only needed to make $62,260 post-tax to live a financially stable life.
Despite that shocking increase, Houston locals have the No. 15 most affordable salary requirements nationwide in order to maintain financial stability in 2025, the report found.
For a family of two working adults and two children, the combined income necessary to live comfortably in Houston is $206,669 a year. For additional context, the median household income in the city was $62,637 in 2023.
Breaking down the cost of living in Houston
SmartAsset also used the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy to figure out what a “comfortable lifestyle” meant for the purpose of their study: 50 percent of their income goes to a person’s needs/living expenses, 30 percent to a person’s wants, and 20 percent for their savings or paying down debt.
That means a childless Houstonian would need to spend $47,965 of their salary on their living expenses, $28,779 for discretionary expenses, and put about $18,012 toward their savings or debt payments.
Families of four would have to spend about $103,335 on living expenses, $62,001 on entertainment or hobbies, and $41,334 toward savings or paying down debt in order to live comfortably in Houston, based on the study's findings.
"Most households aim to maintain a cushion between the necessary spending for day-to-day necessities – like housing, food, utilities and childcare – while also enjoying life in the moment and saving for the future," the report's author wrote. "This means keeping room in the budget for the occasional vacation or splurge, as well as savings for long-term goals like retirement or a child’s college education."
Elsewhere in Texas
San Antonio was the only Texas city that was more budget-friendly than Houston, ranking No. 6 among the top 10 U.S. cities with the lowest salary requirements to live a financially stable life in 2025.
Single San Antonio residents need to make $86,694 in order to live comfortably in their city.
That's not too far off from Indianapolis, Indiana, which ranked as the No. 1 U.S. city with residents needing to make $1,515 less than San Antonio residents to live comfortably in the city.
Here's how other Texas cities fared in the report:
- No. 31 – Dallas, Irving, and Garland (tied, $95,930)
- No. 34 – Fort Worth and Arlington (tied, $96,429)
- No. 51 – Austin ($101,587)
- No. 69 – Plano, Frisco, and McKinney (tied, $107,994)
The U.S. city where residents need to make the most money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in 2025 is San Jose, California. Single individuals need to make a minimum of $147,430, with families of four requiring $371,571 a year to be financially stable.
