In what may come as a surprise to some local residents, a new study ranks Houston among the 10 most overpriced cities in America.

The study, conducted by Highland Cabinetry, compares cities across key metrics, including cost of living, real estate prices, income, safety, traffic, pollution, and unemployment. After crunching the data, researchers assigned a score to each city, with 100 being the worst score.

Houston ranks eighth in the study with a score of 87.1.

“Real estate is more affordable here at $3,467 per square foot, but the city struggles with heavy pollution and underwhelming income levels,” the study says of Houston. “Safety here beats Detroit and Chicago, but it’s still lower than in NYC or Los Angeles.”

Newark, New Jersey, comes in at No. 1, followed by New York City and Los Angeles. Rankings weren’t available for Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, or San Antonio.

“Cost of living alone doesn’t define the value of a city. What our data shows is that several high-cost urban areas come with serious trade-offs, whether it’s long commutes, safety issues, or environmental stress,” according to Highland Cabinetry. “For many residents, the price tag isn’t the only consideration; it’s what that money gets you. And in many cases, the return on investment just isn’t there.”

Here's the full list:

1. Newark, New Jersey
2. New York, New York
3. Los Angeles, California
4. Detroit, Michigan
5. Wilmington, Delaware
6. Washington, D.C.
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Houston, Texas
9. San Francisco, California
10. Miami, Florida