Cost of living comparison
compared to
Austin vs. Colorado Cost of Living Summary
Austin is 4.0% cheaper than Colorado.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.5% less in Austin
- Groceries
-
pay 3.8% less in Austin
- Transportation
-
pay 16.8% less in Austin
- Housing
-
pay 4.0% less in Austin
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3% more in Austin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.1% more in Austin
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% less in Austin
The cost of childcare and entertainment and sports in Austin are more expensive than in Colorado. Expenses including transportation, clothing, restaurants, housing, and groceries are lower in Austin.
Austin vs. Colorado Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Austin instead of Colorado, you would:
pay 4.5% less for restaurants
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.33
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.78
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.28
|
$2.09
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.8% less for groceries
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.51
|
$3.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.35
|
$6.17
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.88
|
$3.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
|
$4.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.70
|
$5.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$2.20
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.18
|
$1.75
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.24
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of groceries
pay 16.8% less for transportation
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.09
|
$2.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.89
|
$41.38
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,264.77
|
$27,900.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.83
|
$17.67
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of transportation
pay 4.0% less for housing
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.31
|
$68.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,998.04
|
$2,134.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,754.04
|
$1,434.41
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.17
|
$133.86
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of housing
pay 3.3% more for childcare
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,452.57
|
$1,343.18
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,338.92
|
$22,093.75
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of childcare
pay 3.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.42
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.34
|
$5.56
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.12
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.97
|
$66.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.12
|
$15.00
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% less for clothing
|
Colorado
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.93
|
$52.74
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.63
|
$43.79
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.36
|
$87.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.50
|
$117.47
|
|
Colorado vs. Austin - 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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