$68 Find Cheap Flights from Houston to California

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Houston to California departing on 7/21. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Houston to California.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Houston to California.
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Houston to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angelesnonstop$196
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$270
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$277
San Jose
San Josenonstop$246
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$319
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$251
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$349
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$310
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$344
Redding
Redding1 stop$348
Merced
Merced1 stop$12,228
Reno
Reno1 stop$236
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$278
Los Angeles
Los Angelesnonstop$196
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$270
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$277
San Jose
San Josenonstop$246
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$319
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$251
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$349
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$310
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$344
Redding
Redding1 stop$348
Merced
Merced1 stop$12,228
Reno
Reno1 stop$236
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$278

Book Cheap Houston to California Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Houston to California that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Houston to California

mer, lug 29 - mar, ago 4
Frontier Logo
8:43 pm - 9:58 pm
IAH
-
LAS
3h 15mnonstop
Frontier Logo
7:00 am - 12:22 pm
LAS
-
IAH
3h 22mnonstop
$144Frontier
mer, lug 29 - mer, ago 5
Frontier Logo
8:43 pm - 9:58 pm
IAH
-
LAS
3h 15mnonstop
Frontier Logo
7:00 am - 12:22 pm
LAS
-
IAH
3h 22mnonstop
$150Frontier
lun, ago 3 - lun, ago 10
Frontier Logo
8:43 pm - 9:58 pm
IAH
-
LAS
3h 15mnonstop
Frontier Logo
7:00 am - 12:22 pm
LAS
-
IAH
3h 22mnonstop
$151Frontier
mar, set 1 - lun, set 7
Southwest Logo
2:50 pm - 4:20 pm
HOU
-
LAX
3h 30mnonstop
Southwest Logo
12:50 am - 6:00 am
LAX
-
HOU
3h 10mnonstop
$222Southwest
mar, lug 21 - mar, lug 28
Southwest Logo
2:40 pm - 3:55 pm
HOU
-
LAS
3h 15mnonstop
Southwest Logo
5:05 am - 10:05 am
LAS
-
HOU
3h 00mnonstop
$225Southwest
mer, set 23 - mer, set 30
Delta Logo
11:00 am - 11:37 pm
HOU
-
ONT
14h 37m
2 stops
Delta Logo
11:59 am - 10:35 pm
ONT
-
HOU
8h 36m
1 stop
$268Delta
mer, set 23 - mer, set 30
Delta Logo
11:00 am - 11:37 pm
HOU
-
ONT
14h 37m
2 stops
Delta Logo
9:45 am - 10:35 pm
ONT
-
HOU
10h 50m
2 stops
$273Delta
mer, lug 15 - mer, ago 5
United Airlines Logo
5:22 am - 7:22 am
IAH
-
SFO
4h 00mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
5:00 am - 10:55 am
SFO
-
IAH
3h 55mnonstop
$280United Airlines
ven, ago 14 - lun, ago 17
American Airlines Logo
6:14 pm - 11:10 pm
HOU
-
SFO
6h 56m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
11:30 pm - 9:03 am
SFO
-
HOU
7h 33m
1 stop
$291American Airlines
gio, ago 6 - mar, ago 11
American Airlines Logo
9:32 am - 2:15 pm
HOU
-
SAN
6h 43m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:19 am - 3:26 pm
SAN
-
HOU
7h 07m
1 stop
$319American Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Houston to California flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Houston to California to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Houston to California?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Houston to California departing in July.

What is the cheapest Houston to California flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to California from Houston found in the last 5 days was to Ontario, at $119 round-trip. The most popular route is from Houston George Bush Intcntl Airport (IAH) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $218.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

The average price for all round-trip flights from Houston to California depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $406 on average. Morning departures are around 13% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $853.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Houston to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Houston to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Houston to California is November, when tickets cost $254 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are May and June, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $413 and $404 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Houston to California?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Houston to California clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If you are looking for a flight deal from Houston to California, look for departures on Fridays and avoid leaving on a Monday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from California, Friday is the cheapest day to fly and Sunday is the most expensive.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Houston to California?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Houston to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Houston to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 41% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 14 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Cheapest flight$68
Flight from Houston George Bush Airport to Las Vegas

Flights from Houston to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Houston to California 
BillFlew with United Airlines
IAH
-
LAX
Jun 2026
Usually, bags come out at LAX on baggage carousel #1 but it has happened several times they switch at the last minute to another.
AgustinFlew with United Airlines
IAH
-
SFO
Feb 2026
Arrive early for your flight so you’re not rushing. And have plenty of patience with other people that are impatient.
ThuFlew with Southwest
HOU
-
OAK
Mar 2024
At HOU airport, gates 1-4 are to the right of security which is separate from the rest of the gates.

FAQs - booking California flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Houston to California?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Houston to California.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Houston to California?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Houston to California is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Houston to California?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from Houston to California with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Houston to California?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from Houston to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Houston to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Houston to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Houston to California? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.9
SouthwestOverall score based on 4235 reviews
7.0Food
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

The first time I flew in the extra legroom section. It was difficult to notice a difference. I had bad luck with my neighbors. The crew was okay. Southwest has reduced the live TV options.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, May 2026
MDW - LAX
Read more Southwest reviews

The first time I flew in the extra legroom section. It was difficult to notice a difference. I had bad luck with my neighbors. The crew was okay. Southwest has reduced the live TV options.

No gluten free snacks. Seats felt worn or bare bones even though it was a new 737 MAX 8.

Plane was clean and comfortable. Flight attendants and gate staff were professional, friendly and efficient. Boarding and deplaning were orderly and efficient. All in all, the typical excellent Southwest experience.

Not having a five hour delay with little notice! The crew was very kind, though, and just as tired as we passengers were. The flight didn't depart until nearly 1 am...and no reason was ever given.

This leg was much better, but we did have to have a 3 hour lay o er after coming from a very exhausting hiccup with our flight from BNA to Den

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

I have roller bag with food and medication told me I couldn't bring on my 2nd flight today. 15 years flying with SW never an issue with that bag.

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

No food or entertainment, just a quick 40 minute flight. A little bumpy due to Santa Ana winds but pilot has no control over that. Good flight and landing!

Everything went smoothly, although the usual gripes about airline travel were still present: the boarding process is inefficient, the snack selection is limited, and so on. Since there was extra space on the flight, the gate agent rearranged many people's seats to put people on the aisles and windows, leaving the middle seats empty, as much as possible, which was pretty great.

While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!

One of the flight attendants was a little cranky. I appreciated the free wifi and plug to charge my laptop

WiFi didn’t work most of the time. The usb chargers would work only occasionally for 5 mins and wouldn’t charge after that. Had to keep trying repeatedly at each of the seats in the row.

The crew bent over backwards to thank us for flying and make us comfortable. The food service was quick and efficient. The Captain communicated and said goodbye and thank you as we departed. They really stood out!

Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).

my mom urmila patel needed a wheelchair which was not available on the curbside. she needed to walk almost 50 meters inside (at the risk of falling) and then had to wait in line to get a wheelchair (this is not ok). Once obtained she had to seat in it for 30-45 minutes for someone to take her in thru the checkin process (which was fairly smooth and easy). the lady who helped her with her checkin process was very courteous and helpful

Staff at the check-in counter were friendly, happy and helpful. They tagged our bags and sent us to “bag drop off” but were not very clear about where that was. The airport was busy we headed off in what we thought was the right direction until a gentleman waved us down and actually came after us. He was the baggage handler for Delta and recognized our “deer in the headlights “ look-he brought us to the right area (which was marked as the Southwest Airlines Drop Off) and sent us on our way. Wonderful guy, low key and working with a big smile on his face. Loved it. Loved him.

Arlene was a great flight attendant. I also liked how one of the other flight attendants gave us a heads up about snacks and asked everyone to remove their headphones when it was their turn to order. Good idea.

I haven’t flown economy in over 20 years but it was not bad. Room by my feet for my bag and seat was roomy enough. Surprised in a good way.

Packed flight, which makes it tough on crew and boarding staff (and the customers of course). But this was great boarding, clear instructions, etc. Traveling on the weekends are always fraught with danger as you have families and less frequent flyers thus more confusion. But this flight went as planned.

Boarded early, left early, arrived 40 mins early! A win win for me!

I felt scammed. The priced advertised was different than what I paid. I paid the whole some online. I then got a call 20 minutes later saying I need to paid 70 more person. She said the price online is not the guaranteed price.

We had a delay, but thankfully I made it to my connection. Overall it went smooth

Left an hour and a half after the listed time. Up side was it had TV screens on the seat.

It's a long flight and I would have liked better snacks between lunch and the arrival meal. It's fine to have fruit and nuts but I really don't like ramen because it's salty junk soup. I'd suggest sandwiches. They're not expensive nor are they hard to store for a long flight. The FA's had a couple of big services and they were super busy preparing, executing and then cleaning up. Then they disappeared.

Great flight. Got to watch a movie. Smooth flight and early arrival at ORD.

I've been flying American mostly, and it's been very frustrating. This united flight makes me realize maybe the issue isn't flying, but the airline. United was a significantly better experience. The plane was more comfortable, with a normal amount of leg room (vs the ridiculous reductions AA has made), more comfortable seats, screens to watch movies. It was a much better experience!

We had excellent customer service despite the chaos at George Bush airport in Houston!

It isvvery small flight. No leg room . No space to put my personal item at feet.

Was put into a seat right behind the toilet that had no entertainment possible but did have plenty of leg room over noisy part of plane.

American delayed the flight for a crew rest period. The delay occurred late in the evening - the earliest i can find is 10:20 pm. With a 6 am flight anyone on the flight would have already have been asleep (unless you are insane, a vampire or on drugs) and at least for me i was already on the way to the airport at 445 am the next morning when i discovered they delayed the flight until 9 am. Given the incoming flight was in the air at 6 pm the evening before this should have been figured out a lot more timely that was there only crew to use. Just frustrating given there is no consideration for customer experience anymore in flying.

Flight: Started on time. Comfortable flight. Arrived on time. Crew: Very cordial and helpful. Drinks and snack was served with a smile. Overall enjoyed the trip. Regards, Hari Doss Chanchala Doss

To have arrived on time and not 3 hours late after having already spent $100 to change to an earlier flight, only to arrive back home close to the original flight time.

American Airlines is a miserable experience. It is predictably miserable, in the sense that every time I fly American, I brace myself for the certainty that it will be unpleasant and uncomfortable. But it is unpredictable in the sense that I never know if the flight will be on time or delayed nine hours (both happened to me this week). I never know if I will be able to sit in the seat that I selected when I purchased the ticket or if I will be told by Customer Service (!!!) that I must relocate from first class to a seat in the back of the aircraft with no explanation (both happened to me this week). Will the food be frozen and half defrosted, or scalding hot? Will the drinks be warm? Will the flight attendants be surly and mean? Will the toilets be cramped and foul? Will the seats be narrow and uncomfortable? Will there be a real electric outlet at the seat, or just an unreliable USB-2 port? Will there be enough seats in the boarding lounge or just a few? Will the boarding process be smooth and efficient, or will the gate agents mess it up and delay it needlessly for 30 or 40 minutes? Will the catering and cleaning crew be prompt or will they take an extra 30 minutes? Will the brakes on the aircraft work properly, or will the pilot delay takeoff for four hours while the ground crew attends to what can only be described as routine maintenance that should have been done the night before? I've eexperienced every one of these unpleasant things this year, 2026. The only thing I can reliably count on is that American will find a new way to make the experience of flying as miserable as they possibly can.

Wifi was spotty. Tray table was very dirty when I sat down.

The WiFi would not connect enough for me to do my actual work. It permaspooled, disconnected, said it was connected, then wouldn't open an email... it was frustrating. I am not a tall person, 5'4" - and I felt cramped with little room to reach into my bag under the seat in front of me. I feel sorry for anyone taller than me having to fly. the one positive thing I will add, is the overhead bins are roomy enough to manage more bags than other carriers.

Going non stop to lax like I paid for. Not stopping in MCI for gas. Too long of delays

Delayed for mechanical and no updates on what was happening and how long the delay might be.

A first class seat should fit a fat person, and this doesn't. The trays in the armrest are less functional than an ordinary tray in the back of the seat.

There weren't enough employees at check in took awhile to get bags checked. There wasn't a wheel chair for me, I was sent to someone who turns out to work for a different airline, if My flight hadn't been delayed I probably would have missed my flight as it was, by the time I arrived at my gate, they started boarding in about 15 minutes. I don't know who took me to my gate, definitely was not the normal people who take passengers to the gate. I'm guessing she may have been in a management position. I wish I knew her name, she went beyond to help me. With that said everyone was kind, and were doing the best they could. So, I choose to say it was an Adventure, stressful start, but good. In the end went well. The situation was not only difficult for passengers but the employee's.

My flight was originally from SAT to MCO connecting from MCO to ORD. We got diverted to ATL and than Frontier staff there was sooo un helpful first they said they couldn’t give us any accommodation since our flight first got delayed that cancelled and now it’s 221am and I am still in ATL since they said they need to create a new flight my final destination is ORD and I have been delayed twice and cancelled. With no real help the frontier app didn’t work no email updates over all such a horrible experience

Gate not determined until I got to the airport - hard to plan the trip to the airport.

Our flight was canceled. I will never use Kayak nor Frontier for travel again. The entire experience was a headache.

Very well recently! Frontier is improving and less harrassing customer on luggages! Positive!

Terrible. The canceled my entire flight when I requested a refund for a trip frontier canceled trip one way.

i was unable to check in the flight. refund requested

I think Frontier was very good at communication. Their app worked very well. Loading was great and the flight was nice and easy.

Great for the price. No wifi or entertainment, but gate agents and crew were fantastic and we boarded quickly and left on time.

Decent clean onboard experience. Okay discount airline experience. Unfortunately, any customer service interactions are difficult and unhelpful. There is no service. Also, a premium seat only gets you premium boarding if you line up first. Once they start general boarding you must go to the back of the line. Not very premium

Everything you need to know for your flight from Houston to California

Cabin class types available on flights to California

Cabin classes available on flights to California. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.