United States / North America
Houston is the largest Texas metro, with energy, healthcare, and aerospace activity, used for Gulf-Coast and energy-sector comparison. Houston is a north america city of about ~7.3M metro in United States. On the composite city-intelligence score, Houston sits around the indexed median (72/100).
JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)
Image credit: Image: Dhanix at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Composite profile
72/100
Use the Houston profile to compare cost framing, transport access, and country-level context alongside Dallas, Austin, and other Gulf-Coast metros.
72/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 72/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 70/100 | Houston's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 66/100 | Houston's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 70/100 | Houston's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 66/100 | Houston's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 71/100 | Houston's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 60/100 | Houston's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 60/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Houston is estimated to be a generally safe city (73/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Houston has a high quality-of-life estimate (78/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, cleanliness and infrastructure.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Houston scores high for family living (75/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Houston is high for remote workers (76/100), based on connectivity, affordability, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Houston is high for retirement (75/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability, a comfortable climate and a clean environment.
Local public safety guidance for Houston, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
| Service | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Universal emergency | 91124/7 | 911 reaches police, fire, and emergency medical dispatch across the United States. |
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Houston, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the United States emergency profile.
Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.
Used as the primary attribution for the United States 911 universal emergency number.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Houston, with national-level information from United States where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Houston, see the United States healthcare profile.
Official hospital registry
Federal directory for comparing Medicare-certified hospitals, nursing homes, and other care providers.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.
Used as the primary federal attribution for United States public-health context.
Used as the official United States hospital registry reference for verified facility lookups.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Houston, with national-level context from United States where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Houston, see the United States transport profile.
Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.
Used as the primary federal attribution for United States national transport context.
Used as the primary attribution for United States aviation authority information.
Used as the primary attribution for United States rail authority information.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Houston. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Houston will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Houston drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — strong quality of life (78/100), with nearby nature such as Brazos Bend State Park.
Strong (75/100) on safety, schools and green space.
More affordable than average; about $1,880/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.
Mainly technology, aerospace, research.
A humid subtropical climate, averaging about 22.1°C.
Higher education is strong (79/100).
Healthcare access is strong (67/100).
Retirement suitability is strong (68/100).
Within ~170 km: Brazos Bend State Park.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Houston's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Houston's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Houston's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Houston's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Houston's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Houston's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Houston — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Houston — Humid Subtropical climate, annual average 22.1°C, comfort score 74/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Houston — global hub, economy score 88/100, key industries including technology, aerospace, research. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Houston — research center, education score 78/100, 8 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Houston — regional healthcare center, healthcare score 67/100, retirement score 68/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Source-attributed visual context for Houston using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Summer 2026 travel planning checklist for Houston — links into arrival planning, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not a weather forecast, events calendar, hotel-price guide, or tourism ranking.
Weekend trip planning checklist for Houston — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Houston using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Houston using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Houston. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Same region · about 75 km from Houston. Explore Galveston's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 131 km from Houston. Explore College Station's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 236 km from Houston. Explore Austin's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 262 km from Houston. Explore Waco's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 300 km from Houston. Explore Corpus Christi's city intelligence profile.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Houston — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Weekend Nature Retreats · 50 places across 80 cities.
Startup Cities · 18 places across 14 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Houston, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Houston has a high quality-of-life estimate (78/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, cleanliness and infrastructure. Visitors can also reach nature such as Brazos Bend State Park within weekend range.
Houston has a high quality-of-life estimate (78/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, cleanliness and infrastructure. It indexes 78/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Houston spends roughly $1,880 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near $1,000. Overall the city is more affordable than average for the United States. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Houston is high for remote workers (76/100), based on connectivity, affordability, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Houston's labour market is very strong, with opportunities concentrated in technology, education and research and finance and professional services. Houston has a globally connected economy with strengths in technology, aerospace and research.
Houston offers strong infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 88/100.
Houston is a research-focused education center with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Social Sciences, Design and Tourism.
Houston offers a strong student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods, relatively affordable living and strong quality of life.
Houston has a regional healthcare center, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 67/100. Residents have strong access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Houston offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 68/100. Residents benefit from walkable streets and broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.
Houston has a humid subtropical climate, averaging about 22.1°C annually with roughly 1199 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Jan.
Houston is estimated to be a generally safe city (73/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
Houston indexes a walkability score of 77 and a cycling score of 63 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Houston include Brazos Bend State Park. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Houston scores high for family living (75/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Houston rates 31/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 50/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Brazos Bend State Park supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
Use the Houston profile to compare cost framing, transport access, and country-level context alongside Dallas, Austin, and other Gulf-Coast metros. Its standout dimensions are internet speed (71/100) and cost of living (70/100). The area most worth watching is climate risk (60/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the United States country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Houston appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used where United States city comparisons need air-quality benchmark context.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.