Cost of living comparison
compared to
Austin vs. Dallas Cost of Living Summary
Austin is 5.0% cheaper than Dallas.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.1% less in Austin
- Groceries
-
pay 2.8% less in Austin
- Transportation
-
pay 21.1% less in Austin
- Housing
-
pay 1.3% less in Austin
- Childcare
-
pay 3.6% more in Austin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.6% more in Austin
- Clothing
-
pay 11.7% less in Austin
The cost of entertainment and sports and childcare in Austin are more expensive than in Dallas. Expenses including transportation, clothing, restaurants, groceries, and housing are lower in Austin.
Austin vs. Dallas Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Austin instead of Dallas, you would:
pay 6.1% less for restaurants
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$2.09
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.8% less for groceries
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.71
|
$3.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.58
|
$6.17
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.63
|
$3.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
|
$4.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.88
|
$5.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.20
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.69
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.03
|
$1.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$1.75
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.24
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of groceries
pay 21.1% less for transportation
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.05
|
$2.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$94.00
|
$41.38
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,755.39
|
$27,900.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.92
|
$17.67
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of transportation
pay 1.3% less for housing
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.96
|
$68.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,669.75
|
$2,134.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,536.04
|
$1,434.41
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$170.25
|
$133.86
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of housing
pay 3.6% more for childcare
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,151.88
|
$1,343.18
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,380.00
|
$22,093.75
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of childcare
pay 4.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$5.56
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.12
|
$66.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Dallas vs. Austin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.7% less for clothing
|
Dallas
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.69
|
$52.74
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.92
|
$43.79
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$110.63
|
$87.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.88
|
$117.47
|
|
Dallas 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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