Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sacramento vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary
Sacramento is 22.9% more expensive than Austin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.0% less in Sacramento
- Groceries
-
pay 32.2% more in Sacramento
- Transportation
-
pay 62.7% more in Sacramento
- Housing
-
pay 30.9% more in Sacramento
- Childcare
-
pay 16.8% more in Sacramento
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.6% more in Sacramento
- Clothing
-
pay 13.4% more in Sacramento
The cost of transportation, groceries, housing, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Sacramento are more expensive than in Austin.
Sacramento vs. Austin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sacramento instead of Austin, you would:
pay 4.0% less for restaurants
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.09
|
$2.04
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.2% more for groceries
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.40
|
$4.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.17
|
$8.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.93
|
$4.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
|
$5.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.15
|
$7.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$2.07
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of groceries
pay 62.7% more for transportation
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.79
|
$4.75
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.38
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,900.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.67
|
$18.91
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of transportation
pay 30.9% more for housing
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.20
|
$74.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,134.75
|
$2,061.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,434.41
|
$1,652.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.86
|
$270.98
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of housing
pay 16.8% more for childcare
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,343.18
|
$1,450.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,093.75
|
$27,750.00
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of childcare
pay 8.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.56
|
$5.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$12.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.33
|
$49.46
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.4% more for clothing
|
Austin
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.74
|
$58.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.79
|
$54.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.55
|
$93.07
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.47
|
$130.00
|
|
Austin vs. Sacramento - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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