2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Houston, TX vs Lake Forest, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Lake Forest or is it cheaper to live in Houston?
- Lake Forest is 70.2% more expensive than Houston.

Which city has more affordable housing, Lake Forest or Houston?
- Lake Forest housing costs are 297.9% more expensive than Houston housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Houston or is Health Care more affordable in Lake Forest.
- Health related expenses are 1.8% less in Lake Forest.
 Houston, TXLake Forest, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock164.9100
 Food & Groceries98.1  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock93.4100
 Housing75.4  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$937,500$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock111.6100
 Miscellaneous105.9  Unlock100
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 3 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 3 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 3 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 Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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