AnswerIn Houston, the median household income is $62,894. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $145,000. Top 5%: $300,000.
Median: $62,894 · Top 20%: $145,000 · Top 5%: $300,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
Houston Income Percentile Calculator [2026]
Where Houston, Texashouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 2,302,878 residents.
AI engineer building pSEO financial tools. Data sourced from the Federal Reserve (SCF), US Census Bureau (ACS), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Quick answer: In Houston, TX, the median household income is $62,894. The bottom 20% earns under $21,500; the top 20% threshold is $145,000; the top 5% starts at $300,000. Median rent is $1,244/month and the median home value is $242,900. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 66th percentile locally.
Key stats for Houston
Income percentile breakpoints — Houston
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $21,500
- 40th percentile
- $44,000
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $82,000
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $145,000
- 95th percentile (top 5%)
- $300,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the "median-ish" row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities.
Local economic context — Houston
Houston is still, at its core, an energy town — ExxonMobil's Spring campus, Chevron's Houston expansion, ConocoPhillips in the Energy Corridor, Occidental, Halliburton, and Schlumberger (SLB) headquartered or heavily staffed here. The 2020 oil collapse and the 2022-2023 recovery moved Houston's income distribution in waves, and petroleum engineer and geoscientist comp still anchors the top decile at levels that rival Silicon Valley for the lucky. But the city has also quietly become a healthcare monster: the Texas Medical Center employs over 120,000, with MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann, and Methodist as the major nodes — TMC is the largest medical complex on Earth by most measures. Port of Houston logistics and petrochemical processing in Pasadena/Deer Park add industrial weight. The housing story is the comparative win: a 3BR single-family in the Heights, Bellaire, or Memorial lists $500K-$900K, and suburbs like Katy and The Woodlands are genuinely affordable to top-20% earners. Property taxes are the offset — Texas has no state income tax but Harris County property-tax rates run 2.0-2.5%, which means a $600K house carries a $13K-$15K annual bill. Commute reality is I-45, I-10 Katy Freeway (one of the widest roads in America and still congested), and the 610 Loop. There is no serious rail transit; Houston runs on cars and the endless flatness that enables them. Cost-of-living caveat: BEA RPP puts Houston near 95% of national, so a $120K salary here genuinely buys more than $150K in Denver or Seattle, especially accounting for zero state income tax.
What this income feels like in Houston
Top 20% in Houston actually feels like upper-middle-class — you own a 3BR house in the Heights or Memorial, drive a late-model SUV, and don't think twice about a steak dinner at B&B Butchers. Property taxes are the surprise bill that makes you wince each October. Summer is a three-month indoor season; your electric bill hits $350 in August because the AC never turns off. HEB groceries feel cheap after a trip to California. Childcare runs $1,400-$1,900/month, a third to half of coastal cities. The trade-off is that every destination requires a 25-minute drive on a freeway where the posted limit is aspirational.
Top 20% reality check — Houston
- You can own a 3,000-sqft single-family in Bellaire or Memorial on a single top-20% income, a standard of living that requires $500K+ household income in LA or NYC.
- Your property-tax bill on that $700K house runs $15K-$18K a year, which mostly eats the savings from Texas's zero state income tax versus California.
- You're spending $300-$400/month on gasoline and tolls because Houston's geography makes a 20-mile round-trip commute feel short and the Grand Parkway is where your weekends go.
Cost-of-living reality — Houston
The median gross rent in Houston is $1,244/month, or roughly 23.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. Houston's median home value is $242,900, a price-to-income ratio of 3.9× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 27.9 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
Other nearby places: Pasadena, Sugar Land, The Woodlands (benchmark pages coming soon).
Houston community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, opens in new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in Houston?
In Houston, TX, the median household income is $62,894. Earning above $82,000 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $145,000 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $145,000 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does Houston's median income compare to the US?
Houston's median household income of $62,894 is about 15.7% lower than the US median of $74,580 (ACS 2023). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; Houston's median rent of $1,244 and median home value of $242,900 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in Houston?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 66th percentile in Houston. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $21,500, p40 $44,000, p60 $82,000, p80 $145,000, p95 $300,000.
Is Houston expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in Houston is $1,244/month, which is 23.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $242,900, a price-to-income ratio of 3.9× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for Houston, Texas. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use published benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between published cells. Figures are in current-year USD unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.