It’s no surprise to hear Austin is a little expensive.
Housing costs in ATX have skyrocketed in recent years — we’re talking home value increasing by ~120% in the last decade. After a stint as one of the most overvalued housing markets in the country, property value in Austin (and Central Texas at large) is falling. Not only that, but housing inventory has reached heights that haven’t been seen in the Capital City in 13 years.
All that said, we were curious: how does the cost of other expenses in Austin compare to the state or nation? And how does Austin compare to other major Texas cities? Let’s break it down.
Getting started
The median household income in Austin is $86,556, according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, Texas is No. 24 in the country for median income at ~$66,963 per household.
The overall cost of living in Austin is higher than the national average, and higher than the rest of the state.
In Austin, the cost of healthcare is a little higher compared to other parts of the state + the US. The cost of groceries in Austin is lower than the US average but higher than the Texas average. Meanwhile, housing, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have higher average costs than other cities in Texas and the country overall.
Breaking down the numbers
Okay, we do need to talk about housing for a moment. Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $85,000, your max monthly budget for rent and utilities would be about $2,125 (30% of your monthly gross income). The average monthly rent for an apartment in Austin is $1,703 — giving you a little extra spending money.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how much you can currently afford to spend on buying a home in Austin, try using SmartAsset’s cost calculator. Factors like your marital status, annual pre-tax income, down payment, and monthly debt will help determine that figure. According to BestPlaces, the median home cost in Austin is $577,400.
While we’re crunching numbers, let’s also take a look at the chart below to see how Austin’s cost of living compares to that of Dallas.
(You can also check out comparisons to Houston + San Antonio.)
Interested in seeing Austin’s cost of living compared to other US cities? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could afford to live in.
That calculator paints a slightly different picture of the cost of living in Austin compared to Dallas. Here’s what we found:
- The cost of living is 4% higher in Dallas.
- To maintain our standard of living in Austin, we would need to bring in $88,824 (compared to $85,000) to our Dallas household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,588, which is $282 less than Austin.
Local housing + developments
Austin has entities such as Foundation Communities, Austin Habitat for Humanity, the Austin Housing Coalition + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units. Plus, the HOME Initiative — which increased the maximum number of houses allowed to built on a single-family lot — is changing the landscape of neighborhoods in town.
There are also a number of local development firms working on apartments seemingly all the time — from car-free affordable condo development The Ivory in east Austin to the $26-million affordable housing development from Housing Trust Group in northwest Austin.
Phew — what would you tell someone considering moving to Austin about the cost of living? Let us know.
