Climate
Houston logs 136 hot days a year to Los Angeles's 65 — Los Angeles wins by 71. Los Angeles also leads on sunny days by 100.
Houston
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Los Angeles
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Houston is $1218/mo cheaperHouston runs about $3,133/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Los Angeles's $4,351/mo — Houston comes in $1,218 cheaper each month, roughly 39% less.
Houston
$3,133monthly · balanced
Los Angeles
$4,351monthly · balanced
Mobility
Houston and Los Angeles score neck-and-neck on mobility (2.0 vs 2.0, 0–5 scale).
Culture
Los Angeles's culture score of 4.2 sits well above Houston's 3.5, with the biggest gap on nightlife.
Nature & Outdoors
Los Angeles's nature & outdoors score of 4.0 sits well above Houston's 3.2, with the biggest gap on mountain access. Houston still holds an edge on forest access.
Safety
Houston's safety score is ~1.2× Los Angeles's — below average, while Los Angeles lands below average, with the biggest gap on wildfire safety. Los Angeles still holds an edge on flooding safety.
Career
Los Angeles's career score of 4.4 sits well above Houston's 3.8, with the biggest gap on startup ecosystem.
Social & Community
Houston and Los Angeles score neck-and-neck on social & community (3.4 vs 3.6, 0–5 scale).
Food & Dining
On food & dining, Los Angeles scores 4.8 vs Houston's 3.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on brunch availability.
Family
On family, Los Angeles scores 4.0 vs Houston's 3.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on gym/fitness quality. Houston still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
On healthcare, Los Angeles scores 2.8 vs Houston's 2.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Houston averages 8.9 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus Los Angeles's 13.8 µg/m³ (moderate) — Houston breathes ~36% cleaner air (4.9 µg/m³ lower).
Houston
Los Angeles
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Houston (4.3M) and Los Angeles (13.5M) are 3.1x in population — Los Angeles is the larger metro, Houston the smaller; on land area Los Angeles spans roughly 2.4x more ground.
Los Angeles is roughly 2.8x the scale of Houston
Combined population & area comparison
Los AngelesHoustonCity Scale Rankings
Los Angeles13.5M3.1xHouston4.3M1xLos Angeles4,498 km²2.4xHouston1,859 km²1xHouston
Los Angeles
Who Thrives Here
Los Angeles is the stronger fit for the mountain seeker. Both cities work well for the english speaker.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Houston vs Los Angeles
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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