3.63/5
822 reviews
Photo by MJ Tangonan via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Austin, TX

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good

great

nice

homeless

hot

generally

food

friends

walk

downtown

tech

problem

friendly

lake

fit

drive

diverse

fall

easy

Austin is a vibrant and fast-growing city with a strong tech presence and plenty of opportunities, particularly for young professionals. The city offers a wide range of amenities like lakes, hiking spots, breweries, and nightlife, making it ideal for both singles and couples. There's a noticeable focus on fitness and outdoor activities, and people tend to be friendly and open, especially due to the large number of transplants from other parts of the country. The food scene is outstanding in both variety and average quality, although healthy food can be harder to find unless you cook at home. It’s common to see residents staying active and social through hobbies, sports, or community groups.

However, there are a few downsides consistently noted across reviews. Summers are extremely hot, often exceeding 100°F (38°C), which can make outdoor life tough during peak months. The cost of living has spiked due to an influx of high-paying tech jobs and soaring housing demand. There’s also concern about homelessness, especially in downtown and other busy areas, which affects the overall experience and safety. Finally, some long-time residents feel the city is losing its cultural soul as it rapidly modernizes. Despite the drawbacks, many still consider Austin a top-tier city to live in or visit.

AI-generated summary of reviews
5 months ago

I live here. Homelessness is a problem in certain areas but it’s improving. Summers can be hot but fall, winter, and spring are generally pleasant. Lots of sunny days and people are very friendly. It’s easy to meet and become friends with people. The hiking around Austin is nice and places like Barton springs are special. Tons of good foodie places.

5 months ago

I loved my stay in Austin. I had heard a lot of people moved here during COVID and wanted to see it for myself.

We stayed around Lady Bird Lake, like on the south side of the river, a very nice area. We were there in July so it was quite hot, but in the shadow it was fine to walk. It is dry heat, not like in Thailand, so while it's hot it's not sweaty which is much better.

The average quality of food here is very high, like some of the best food I had in the world besides maybe Japan. Not everything is great of course but just the average level is much higher than other places in US or the world.

People are generally very friendly. There is some thing where they say Austinites are friendly but behind the facade mean. I did see this sometimes but not a lot. One thing that helps is that a lot (maybe most?) people here are import from other places. Especially in the last few years. So people are quite open to meeting new people and making friends.

People generally are VERY FIT here. You see women walk in Lululemon everywhere, and guys also shirtless and in shorts. Everyone here seems like they're fit and active. Lots of runners.

Also everyone seems to have a dog here and they walk it. People also seemed quite individualistic here like you see a lot of people here walk alone, drive alone, sit alone, go places alone. Much more than other US cities, and the rest of the world. Maybe that's a part of people being new here and not having lots of friends yet. Or maybe it means it's hard to make friends here, I am not sure yet. It seems to me it'd be easy to make friends here if you just put effort in like go into your work, hobby or sports subculture.

Austin feels very tech-y now, lots of people you overhear talking about building startups and business here. You see lots of money, rich people, expensive cars, but not in an annoying way.

There's lots of shopping, all the big brands are here, some good malls although there has to be more I think. South of Congress Avenue (SoCo) is a place we kept going, a nice area with shopping, food and good coffee. Also much further drive 20 minutes up is The Domain, also nice area.

We went shooting at The Range, very cool experience. And we went to Sandbox VR in The Domain which was fun too.

One thing is, but maybe American problem, it was hard to find good healthy food. We did find Sweet Green which seemed to be relatively healthiest option. But most food here is great but not so healthy if you eat out every day. I guess you really have to rent a place here and cook.

I think it's a great city to live if you are single and looking for a fit boyfriend or girlfriend. But also great if you're in a relationship because there's so much stuff to eat, drink and do here.

One thing that was VERY bad is the homeless people. They were in downtown and it was very scary seeing them do drugs right on the street and you have to pass them. Problem is they're NOT JUST in downtown in Austin, they're kinda everywhere. Not like A LOT. But also not nothing either. You'll hear random homeless shouting or standing in the middle of the road. Sometimes you're surrounded by homeless and you can't cross the street and it's scary af. They're not harmless homeless either, they will spot you and come up to you and shout at you. Very creepy. I really think the city should clean that up and take the homeless of the streets and help them. And don't let them get back on. It's dangerous for people and children and it makes the city look really bad.

Austin is walkable and very good for bicycling, but random homeless make that more dangerous. I guess that's one reason why running clubs are so big here because people feel safer running in a massive group.

All around I do think it's a GREAT city and a great place to live or visit. It's one of my top places I've lived in the world and it is very comfortable and nice.

2 years ago

All in, Austin is a good city. We live in Hill Country now so we're a bit removed. But it's beautiful area once you get away from the highways. A good tech scene. Not too expensive (~$2100 for a nice 2 bedroom apt) for the U.S. Has wineries and breweries galore. Not a great place if you are a recovering alcoholic (!). Cons: extremely hot in the summer; reaches 110 F (43.3 C) in summer afternoons from June - September. Not very diverse. Highways are loud and obnoxious.

5 years ago

Grew up here in the 80s/90s, moved back in 2015 after 10 years in LA and 10 years abroad. I don't get why it's so highly rated. It's a far cry from the free-living, cheap to live, music-infused past. The old music venues are being torn down to build condos. Tech bros moving en masse has caused housing demand to spike, and with it, property values, rent, and cost of living, and no scale with increases in pay.

All the musicians and artists are leaving, and everyone here is young, white, and has the same pedestrian, reactionary opinions about everything. If you want Orange County, CA without the Pacific coast, this is it. I'm getting the hell out of here.

5 years ago

One of the fastest growing cities in the USA with a lot of tech companies opening offices. Usually a fun city with a lively downtown (music, University, bars), a lake for boating, and lots of land outside the city. Texas is the second largest state in the USA and generally hot, so you may want to check the weather for any intended visits. Generally, a pretty good place to go: lots of young people and pretty good paying tech related jobs.

5 years ago

Not a great place to live for diversity. It may seem diverse but when you actually live there, it’s just a group of diverse white people from small towns. High population of Hispanics and whites.

6 years ago

Great place to hang out in Texas. Enjoy the crowds? Head downtown during and after a UT football game in the fall. Avoid the crowds? Take a short drive to the hill country to hang out on a lake, hike the hills, or tour one of the many wineries or distilleries.

8 years ago

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm all year

✅ Friendly people

✅ Active lifestyle

✅ High quality food

✅ Good tech job market

✅ Walkable and bike-friendly

✅ Lots to do (music, bars, outdoors)

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Extremely hot summers

❌ High cost of living

❌ Homelessness issue

❌ Not very diverse

❌ Losing cultural identity

❌ Very expensive

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Not safe for women

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

1763°
cool

1457°
cool

2170°
mild

2373°
mild

2984°
warm

41106°
scorching

38100°
hot

43109°
scorching

40104°
hot

3188°
hot

2068°
mild

2373°
mild

Real (median)

1762°
cool

1558°
cool

2170°
mild

2373°
mild

2679°
warm

3188°
hot

3086°
very warm

3290°
hot

2882°
very warm

2067°
mild

2373°
mild

Humidity

damp
71%

damp
72%

nice
64%

nice
70%

nice
85%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
77%

nice
69%

sweaty
73%

nice
77%

nice
85%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
69mm

dry
34mm

dry
10mm

dry
34mm

rainy
121mm

rainy
87mm

dry
44mm

rainy
61mm

dry
22mm

rainy
87mm

rainy
51mm

dry
21mm

Cloud

pockets
22%

pockets
33%

pockets
29%

pockets
45%

cloudy
50%

pockets
37%

pockets
34%

pockets
27%

pockets
19%

pockets
24%

pockets
20%

pockets
40%

Air quality

clean
34 US AQI

clean
42 US AQI

clean
41 US AQI

clean
42 US AQI

clean
37 US AQI

clean
46 US AQI

clean
39 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
39 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

Remote workers

5,682 people

3,720 people

5,242 people

5,040 people

5,443 people

3,663 people

3,424 people

3,706 people

5,175 people

5,663 people

4,941 people

5,657 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Austin's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Austin and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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✈️14h

$3,382 / mo

28 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 63 😷

✈️5h

$1,568 / mo

🌇 Also went here187 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 59° AQI 53 😷

✈️10h

$3,941 / mo

🌇 Also went here273 people

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 9° 48° 10° 51° AQI 63 😷

✈️14h

$3,382 / mo

🌇 Also went here203 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 42° 108° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 76 😷

✈️20h

$1,646 / mo

🌇 Also went here265 people

5,400 remote workers in Austin now, of which 7+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.63/5 (Rank #40) 822 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍21 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	1% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,824 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 99 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 22°C71°F (feels 22°C72°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 51%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 90%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 38 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Bad
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Okay
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very high: $4,817 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Good

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	United States
🗓️ Average trip length	13 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	99 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 22°C 71°F + 😊 Comfy (51%) = feels 22°C 72°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 38 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Vuka
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Capital Factory
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	950,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$57,808 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 83% 👱‍♀️ 17%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Southwest
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Jet Blue

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,824 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,828 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$6,881 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,966 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,028 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,212 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,630 / month
🏠 Median home price	$450,000
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$95 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$105 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$310 / month
🍛 Dinner	$11
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$5
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$5
👩‍🏫 International school	$18,000 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$19 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$6 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,352
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$30,278
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$71,127