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2024 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Houston, TX vs Merced, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Merced or is it cheaper to live in Houston?
- Merced is 12.6% more expensive than Houston.

Which city has more affordable housing, Merced or Houston?
- Merced housing costs are 46.3% more expensive than Houston housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Houston or is Health Care more affordable in Merced.
- Health related expenses are 27.5% more in Merced.
 Houston, TXMerced, CAUnited States
 Overall96.9109.1100
 Food & Groceries98.199.5100
 Health95.1121.3100
 Housing75.4110.3100
 Median Home Cost$247,900$373,000$338,100
 Utilities9,650.0%11,030.0%10,000.0%
 Transportation119.0101.1100
 Miscellaneous105.9108.7100

100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Houston    371 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

I moved to Houston from the San Francisco Bay area in 1991 after college but I have always had family here. Houston is not what you think of when you think of Texas  More

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Over 2 years ago

There's definitely lots of jobs/economic opportunity. It's quite racially diverse if that's your thing. Houston has awful urban sprawl. Expect awful traffic. Hot as hell  More

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Over 2 years ago

There's definitely lots of jobs/economic opportunity. It's quite racially diverse if that's your thing. Houston has awful urban sprawl. Expect awful traffic. Hot as hell  More

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Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

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Over 4 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

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Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

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ZIPS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
77449, 77084, 77429, 77379, 77036, 77433, 77095, 77072, 77077, 77088, 100 total
ZIPS IN MERCED, CALIFORNIA
95340 95348 95341

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