$100,000 salary goes further in Houston than most cities, study shows

Cashing In

A $100,000 salary goes further in Houston than Dallas. Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Even with Houston's ever-changing cost of living, earning a six-figure salary in the city is going much further than it used to, according to an income study by fintech company SmartAsset.

An annual $100,000 salary in Houston is worth $83,343 after taxes and when adjusted for the city's cost of living, the report revealed. That's $5,254 more than what six-figure-earning Houstonians were bringing home last year, a separate report from GoBankingRates.com found.

In SmartAsset's rankings of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the most, Houston ranked ninth.

The report warns a six-figure salary may seem comfortable at first, but it may not stretch as far depending on where an individual lives, any applicable tax obligations, and the rate of inflation.

"Earning $100,000 places an individual tax filer at the upper limit of the 22 percent federal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "But taxes aren’t the only factor. The cost of living varies widely across the country, affecting how much purchasing power remains after necessary expenses."

Manhattan, New York is the No. 1 place where a six-figure salary is worth the least, where a New Yorker's take-home pay is only worth $30,362 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

Other U.S. cities where a $100,000 salary goes the furthest
The U.S. city where a six-figure salary goes the furthest is Oklahoma City, where residents come away with $89,989 after all expenses.

Texas cities dominated the top 10 list. Texas doesn't impose state or local income taxes, which likely boosted its statewide six-figure salary value.

Six-figure earners living in El Paso see the greatest amount in take-home pay statewide, according to SmartAsset, with residents making $89,114 annually after taxes and expenses in 2025. That's $274 more than 2024's take-home pay.

The three additional Texas cities where a $100,000 salary goes the furthest after taxes and expenses are:

  • No. 3 – Corpus Christi ($88,015)
  • No. 6 – Lubbock ($86,846)
  • No. 7 – San Antonio ($86,084)

Six-figure salaries don't stretch as far in Dallas-Fort Worth. An annual $100,000 salary in Dallas is worth only $77,197 after taxes and expenses, which is about $900 less than what six-figure-earning Dallasites brought home in 2024.

Those living in Plano are taking home even less: The study says a Plano resident's six-figure salary is only worth $71,372 in 2025.

In the report's rankings of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least, Plano ranked at No. 26, while Dallas ranked 38th.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities, which was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services).

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A version of this story originally appeared on sister site, CultureMap.com.

The daily cost of living is not as high in Houston as it is in two other Texas cities. Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

How Houston's cost of living compares to other major Texas cities in 2025

Calculating Costs

A new cost-of-living index yields a result that many Houstonians will find surprising: Houston is not the most expensive place to live in Texas. Dallas and Austin are costlier.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index for 2025 shows Dallas ranks first in Texas and 24th in North America, landing at 65.8. The cost-of-living index compares the cost of living in New York City (which sits at 100) with the cost of living in another city. Austin is at 61.7, Houston at 60.6, and San Antonio at 58.8.

Houston ranks 40th overall in North America, out of 52 cities in the index.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index takes into account the cost of items like groceries, restaurant meals, transportation, and utilities. The index excludes rent.

When rent is added to the cost-of-living index, Houston is still third among Texas cities. Dallas grabs the No. 21 spot in North America (57.1), one notch above Austin (56.6). Houston ranks 35th (51.4), and San Antonio ranks 42nd (34.6).

Rent index
While Dallas holds the top Texas spot on Numbeo’s overall cost-of-living index, Austin faces the highest rent prices. Numbeo's rent index for Austin sits at 50.1, putting it in 12th place among major cities in North America and highest in Texas, above the indexes for Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Houston lands at 27th.

The rent index in New York City, which tops the list, is 100. As Numbeo explains, the rent index estimates the cost of renting an apartment in a city compared with New York City. If the rent index is 50, for example, this suggests the average rent in that city is 50 percent below the average rent in New York City.

Around Texas, the rent index is:

  • 46.2 in Dallas
  • 39.8 in Houston
  • 34.6 in San Antonio

Restaurant index
In contrast to its showing on the rent and cost-of-living indexes, Houston outranks Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio on Numbeo’s restaurant index. This index compares the prices of meals and drinks at restaurants and bars to those in New York City.

Houston sits at No. 25 on the restaurant index, at 68.9. Dallas comes in at No. 32 (67.1), Austin at No. 34 (66.6), and San Antonio at No. 36 (65.2).

The National Restaurant Association reported in December that menu prices in the U.S. had risen 3.6 percent in the past 12 months, outpacing gains in grocery prices and the federal government’s overall Consumer Price Index. Fortunately for diners, that was the smallest 12-month increase in menu prices since August 2020, according to the association.

Toast, which provides a cloud-based restaurant management system, says the higher menu prices reflect higher food prices.

“Food prices have been increasing due to inflation, labor expenses, fuel costs, and supply chain disruptions, all of which impact restaurant profitability, Toast says. “While raising menu prices is one option to combat rising food costs, some restaurants have introduced service charges and simplified menus to avoid passing all costs onto customers.”

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

Texans now need to make $130,241 more in 2024 to maintain their status as one of the highest earners in the state. Photo via Getty Images

Here's how much it takes to earn a top 1 percent salary in Texas

wealthy lifestyle

With two Houston-area neighbors cashing in among the most wealthy suburbs in America, Houstonians may be wondering how much money they need to make to secure a place in the top one percent of earners. According to a new study from SmartAsset, the pre-tax salary required to be considered one of the highest earners in Texas amounts to $762,090 in 2024.

Texas has the 14th highest pre-tax salary needed to be considered in the top one percent of earners in the U.S. for the second year in a row. Texas' income threshold is not too far off from the national average, which is $787,712.

The study further revealed 126,128 Texans are within the top one percent of earners. For more context, the U.S. Census Bureau says over 30 million people lived in Texas as of 2022, and Houston's population grew to 2.3 million people in 2023.

Connecticut continues to lead the nation with the highest income threshold required to be in the top one percent, with residents needing to make over $1.15 million pre-tax.

To determine the income needed to be in the top one percent of earners in each state, SmartAsset analyzed 2021 IRS data for individual tax filers, which is the most recent year where data was available. Income data was then adjusted to June 2024 dollars.

Compared to SmartAsset's 2023 report, Texans now need to make $130,241 more in 2024 to maintain their status as one of the highest earners in the state. Last year, the income threshold was $631,849.

If Houstonians aim to be within the top five percent of earners in Texas, the pre-tax income threshold is drastically lower, at $280,676. However, for many Houston residents, achieving even a "middle class" status means making between $40,280 and $120,852 a year.

Meanwhile, the study says the median income in the U.S. comes out to roughly $75,000, and half of Americans are making even less than that. The income disparity is plainly obvious when high-income earners make (at a minimum) 10 times more than the national median income.

The report goes on to say top-earning Americans make up a "disproportionately large part of the tax base," as their income results in paying a 37 percent federal tax bracket rate. (That is, if these high earners are even paying taxes in the first place, considering America's wealthiest are already evading over $150 billion a year in taxes.)

"While state and local level taxes may impact the spread of high earners in those areas, the cost of living can also be drastically different nationwide," the report said. "As a result, what it takes to be considered a top one percent income earner can differ by over $500,000 from state to state."

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top one percent of earners in the U.S. are:

  • No. 1 – Connecticut ($1,152,254)
  • No. 2 – Massachusetts ($1,113,662)
  • No. 3 – California ($1,035,673)
  • No. 4 – Washington ($989,649)
  • No. 5 – New Jersey ($975,645)
  • No. 6 – New York ($965,645)
  • No. 7 – Colorado ($865,700)
  • No. 8 – Florida ($852,206)
  • No. 9 – Wyoming ($843,121)
  • No. 10 – New Hampshire ($811,098)
The full report can be found on smartasset.com

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

The study's findings are shedding light on further growing financial stress and affordability struggles throughout the U.S., likely heightened by inflation and cost of living increases. Photo via Getty Images

Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in Houston in 2024

by the numbers

No one wants to hear that they aren't making enough money to be considered "middle class," but those income ceilings are getting more difficult to maintain year after year across the Houston area. And a new report has revealed The Woodlands has the No. 10 highest income ceiling for American middle class earners in 2024.

According to the 2024 edition of SmartAsset's annual "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America" report, middle class households in The Woodlands would need to make between $91,548 and $274,670 a year to be labeled "middle class." Additionally, the suburb's median middle class household income comes out to $137,335 a year.

The report used a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary." To determine income limits, the report analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2022 one-year American Community Survey. New to the 2024 report, SmartAsset widened its analysis of income data from 100 to 345 of the largest American cities.

The Woodlands' middle class income thresholds are egregiously higher than the national average, the study found.

"In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000," the report says. "The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590."

Sugar Land was right behind The Woodlands, ranking No. 13 out of all 345 U.S. cities, with households needing to make between $88,502 and $265,532 a year to maintain their "middle class" status.

In a shocking turn of events, Houston plummeted into No. 254 this year after ranking among the top 100 in SmartAsset's 2023 report. At the time, a Houston household needed to make between $37,184 and $110,998 a year to be considered middle class. But the latest findings from the 2024 report show the necessary salary range to maintain a middle class designation in Houston is now between $40,280 and $120,852 a year.

The study's findings are shedding light on further growing financial stress and affordability struggles throughout the U.S., likely heightened by inflation and cost of living increases.

"As a middle-class American, there is some expectation for living a lifestyle of relative comfort," the report said. "But as costs have increased significantly over the last few years, the middle class is now feeling a squeeze in their finances."

Here’s what it takes to be middle class in other Houston-area cities:

  • No. 34 – Atascocita: between $71,748 and $215,266 a year
  • No. 39 – League City: between $69,904 and $209,734 a year
  • No. 45 – Pearland: between $69,990 and $206,992 a year
  • No. 211 – Conroe: between $43,814 and $131,456 a year
  • No. 273 – Pasadena: between $38,048 and $114,156 a year

Middle class income thresholds within the top 10 U.S. cities
The Woodlands wasn't the only Texas city to earn a spot in the top 10. Frisco, a suburb outside of Dallas, ranked two spots higher to claim No. 8 in the national comparison of U.S. cities with the highest income thresholds to be labeled middle class.

Middle class households in Frisco need to make between $97,266 and $291,828 a year, with the median household income at $145,914, according to the report.

Unsurprisingly, half of the top 10 cities with the highest middle class income ceilings are in California. The report found households in four of the five cities could be bringing in over $300,000 a year in income and still be classified as middle class.

California’s overall high cost-of-living means residents in the No. 1 city of Sunnyvale would need to make between $113,176 and $339,562 a year to be labeled middle class. Sunnyvale overtook Fremont for the top spot in the report in 2024.

The top 10 cities with the highest middle class ceilings are:

  • No. 1 – Sunnyvale, California
  • No. 2 – Fremont, California
  • No. 3 – San Mateo, California
  • No. 4 – Santa Clara, California
  • No. 5 – Bellevue, Washington
  • No. 6 – Highlands Ranch, Colorado
  • No. 7 – Carlsbad, California
  • No. 8 – Frisco, Texas
  • No. 9 – Naperville, Illinois
  • No. 10 – The Woodlands, Texas

The full report and its methodology can be found on smartasset.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Here's how big your nest egg needs to be in Texas if you want an early retirement. Photo via Pexels

This is how much money you need to retire by 40 in Texas, report finds

by the numbers

Many working adults have asked themselves whether or not they'll be able to achieve an early retirement, but the reality is: It's not attainable anywhere in the U.S. without a substantial nest egg (and the income to go with it).

In Texas, that nest egg would have to be at least $1 million in the bank, according to a new annual report by personal finance website GoBankingRates.

The report, "Early Retirement: Here’s How Much Savings Is Needed To Retire by 40 in Every State," examined each state's cost of living and Social Security benefits to determine exactly how much money you'd need to have stocked away to achieve an early retirement.

According to the study's findings, the total cost of living expenses for the average Texan adds up to $3,362.63 per month, or $40,351.50 a year.

Based on those numbers, GoBakingRates calculated that a Texas resident retiring by age 40 would need a jaw-dropping $1,278,894.70 saved up if they were to live until they were 80 years old.

If a 40-year-old Texan lived to be 90, that nest egg would have to be $1,458,966.13, and if they lived to be 100, they'd need $1,639,037.55 in their savings for those remaining 60 years.

Texas came in at No. 20 on the list. Texans can breathe a (small) sigh of relief they aren't retiring in Hawaii, which came in at No. 1 on the list, with the highest amount of savings needed to retire early. The annual cost of living in Hawaii is nearly $107,000, which means a 40-year-old Hawaiian would need more than $3.94 million to retire early and enjoy 40 years of retirement.

California came in second, followed by Washington DC, Massachusetts, and Washington state.

The states with the least amount of savings required to retire by 40 are:

  • No. 1 – West Virginia
  • No. 2 – Mississippi
  • No. 3 – Oklahoma
  • No. 4 – Arkansas
  • No. 5 – Kentucky
  • No. 6 – Louisiana
  • No. 7 – Alabama
  • No. 8 – Kansas
  • No. 9 – Iowa
  • No. 10 – Michigan

GOBankingRates sourced cost of living data and national average expenditure data for retired residents from the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure for Retired Residents, and Zillow’s Home Value Index. These three data points were combined to determine the average annual cost of living for retired residents, and used the typical retirement age of 65 to factor in the full Social Security benefits, thus calculating the average income to be expected in retirement.

The report echoes national ongoing financial strife in regards to inflation and cost of living increases, where not even Houston is immune.

The full report can be found on gobankingrates.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Autonomous truck company with Houston routes goes public

on a roll

Kodiak Robotics, a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, has gone public through a SPAC merger and has rebranded as Kodiak AI. The company operates trucking routes to and from Houston, which has served as a launchpad for the business.

Privately held Kodiak, founded in 2018, merged with a special purpose acquisition company — publicly held Ares Acquisition Corp. II — to form Kodiak AI, whose stock now trades on the Nasdaq market.

In September, Mountain View, California-based Kodiak and New York City-based Ares disclosed a $145 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) investment from institutional investors to support the business combo. Since announcing the SPAC deal, more than $220 million has been raised for the new Kodiak.

“We believe these additional investments underscore our investors’ confidence in the value proposition of Kodiak’s safe and commercially deployed autonomous technology,” Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak, said in a news release.

“We look forward to leading the advancement of the commercial trucking and public sector industries,” he added, “and delivering on the exciting value creation opportunities ahead to the benefit of customers and shareholders.”

Last December, Kodiak debuted a facility near George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport for loading and loading driverless trucks. Transportation and logistics company Ryder operates the “truckport” for Ryder.

The facility serves freight routes to and from Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma City. Kodiak’s trucks currently operate with or without drivers. Kodiak’s inaugural route launched in 2024 between Houston and Dallas.

One of the companies using Kodiak’s technology is Austin-based Atlas Energy Solutions, which owns and operates four driverless trucks equipped with Kodiak’s driver-as-a-service technology. The trucks pick up fracking sand from Atlas’ Dune Express, a 42-mile conveyor system that carries sand from Atlas’ mine to sites near customers’ oil wells in the Permian Basin.

Altogether, Atlas has ordered 100 trucks that will run on Kodiak’s autonomous technology in an effort to automate Atlas’ supply chain.

Rice University scientists invent new algorithm to fight Alzheimer's

A Seismic Breakthrough

A new breakthrough from researchers at Rice University could unlock the genetic components that determine several human diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease affected 57 million people worldwide in 2021, and cases in the United States are expected to double in the next couple of decades. Despite its prevalence and widespread attention of the condition, the full mechanisms are still poorly understood. One hurdle has been identifying which brain cells are linked to the disease.

For years, it was thought that the cells most linked with Alzheimer's pathology via DNA evidence were microglia, infection-fighting cells in the brain. However, this did not match with actual studies of Alzheimer's patients' brains. It's the memory-making cells in the human brain that are implicated in the pathology.

To prove this link, researchers at Rice, alongside Boston University, developed a computational algorithm called “Single-cell Expression Integration System for Mapping Genetically Implicated Cell Types," or SEISMIC. It allows researchers to zero in on specific neurons linked to Alzheimer's, the first of its kind. Qiliang Lai, a Rice doctoral student and the lead author of a paper on the discovery published in Nature Communications, believes that this is an important step in the fight against Alzheimer's.

“As we age, some brain cells naturally slow down, but in dementia — a memory-loss disease — specific brain cells actually die and can’t be replaced,” said Lai. “The fact that it is memory-making brain cells dying and not infection-fighting brain cells raises this confusing puzzle where DNA evidence and brain evidence don’t match up.”

Studying Alzheimer's has been hampered by the limitations of computational analysis. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) map small differences in the DNA of Alzheimer's patients. The genetic signal in these studies would often over-emphasize the presence of infection fighting cells, essentially making the activity of those cells too "loud" statistically to identify other factors. Combined with greater specificity in brain regional activity, SEISMIC reduces the data chatter to grant a clearer picture of the genetic component of Alzheimer's.

“We built our SEISMIC algorithm to analyze genetic information and match it precisely to specific types of brain cells,” Lai said. “This enables us to create a more detailed picture of which cell types are affected by which genetic programs.”

Though the algorithm is not in and of itself likely to lead to a cure or treatment for Alzheimer's any time soon, the researchers say that SEISMIC is already performing significantly better than existing tools at identifying important disease-relevant cellular signals more clearly.

“We think this work could help reconcile some contradicting patterns in the data pertaining to Alzheimer’s research,” said Vicky Yao, assistant professor of computer science and a member of the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice. “Beyond that, the method will likely be broadly valuable to help us better understand which cell types are relevant in different complex diseases.”

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

5 incubators and accelerators fueling the growth of Houston startups

meet the finalists

Houston is home to numerous accelerators and incubators that support founders in pushing their innovative startups and technologies forward.

As part of our 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, the new Incubator/Accelerator of the Year category honors a local incubator or accelerator that is championing and fueling the growth of Houston startups.

Five incubators and accelerators have been named finalists for the 2025 award. They support startups ranging from hard-tech companies to digital health startups.

Read more about these organizations below. Then join us at the Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled.

Get your tickets now on sale for this exclusive event celebrating Houston Innovation.

Activate

Hard tech incubator Activate supports scientists in "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." The Houston hub was introduced last year, and joins others in Boston, New York, and Berkley, California—where Activate is headquartered. It named its second Houston cohort this summer.

This year, the incubator grew to include its largest number of concurrent supported fellows, with 88 companies currently being supported nationally. In total, Activate has supported 296 fellows who have created 236 companies. Those companies have raised over $4 billion in follow-on funding, according to Activate. In Houston, it has supported several Innovation Awards finalists, including Solidec, Bairitone Health and Deep Anchor Solutions. It is led locally by Houston Managing Director Jeremy Pitts.

EnergyTech Nexus

Cleantech startup hub EnergyTech Nexus' mission is to accelerate the energy transition by connecting founders, investors and industrial stakeholders and helping to develop transformative companies, known as "thunderlizards."

The hub was founded in 2023 by CEO Jason Ethier, Juliana Garaizar and Nada Ahmed. It has supported startups including Capwell Services, Resollant, Syzygy Plasmonics, Hertha Metals, EarthEn Energy and Solidec—many of which are current or past Innovation Awards finalists. This year Energy Tech Nexus launched its COPILOT Accelerator, powered by Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). COPILOT partners with Browning the Green Space, a nonprofit that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the clean energy and climatech sectors. Energy Tech Nexus also launched its Liftoff fundraising program, its Investor Program, and a "strategic ecosystem partnership" with Greentown Labs.

Greentown Labs

Climatetech incubator Greentown Labs offers its community resources and a network to climate and energy innovation startups looking to grow. The collaborative community offers members state-of-the-art prototyping labs, business resources and access to investors and corporate partners. The co-located incubator was first launched in Boston in 2011 before opening in Houston in 2021.

Greentown has seen major changes and activity this year. In February, Greentown announced Georgina Campbell Flatter as its new CEO, along with a new Board of Directors. In July, it announced Lawson Gow as its Head of Houston, a "dedicated role to champion the success of Greentown Houston’s startups and lead Greentown’s next chapter of impact in the region," according to Greentown. It has since announced numerous new partnerships, including those with Energy Tech Nexus, Los Angeles-based software development firm Nominal, to launch the new Industrial Center of Excellence; and Houston-based Shoreless, to launch an AI lab onsite. Greentown Houston has supported 175 startups since its launch in 2021, with 45 joining in the last two years. Those startups include the likes of Hertha Metals, RepAir Carbon, Solidec, Eclipse Energy (formerly GoldH2) and many others.

Healthtech Accelerator (TMCi)

The Healthtech Accelerator, formerly TMCx, focuses on clinical partnerships to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. Emerging digital health and medical device startups that join the accelerator are connected with a network of TMC hospitals and seasoned advisors that will prepare them for clinical validation, funding and deployment.

The Healthtech Accelerator is part of Texas Medical Center Innovation, which also offers the TMCi Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics. The Healthtech Accelerator named its 19th, and latest, cohort of 11 companies last month.

Impact Hub Houston

Impact Hub Houston supports early-stage ventures at various stages of development through innovative programs that address pressing societal issues. The nonprofit organization supports social impact startups through mentorship, connections and training opportunities.

There are more than 110 Impact Hubs globally with 24,000-plus members spanning 69 countries, making it one of the world’s largest communities for accelerating entrepreneurial solutions toward the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston City College Northwest, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.



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