Major cities like Austin and Dallas cannot compete with the cost of living in Houston, with Houston being 8% cheaper than the national average. Plus, there is no state income tax, which helps the Houston area achieve this low cost of living. The metro area's sales and use taxes are at 8.25%, and funds are raised this way. Healthcare took up 6.6% of Houston residents' salary in 2018-19 compared to 8.1% nationally.