Living here
Cost of living in Austin
Housing is more expensive than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$1,655/mo
23% above US
Median home value
$512,700
69% above US
Median household income
$91,461
16% above US
Rent as share of income
22%
US 21%
Home price to income
5.6×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
8.25%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Austin compares
- Austin$1,655
- Texas$1,339
- United States$1,348
- Cedar Park$1,753
- Georgetown$1,671
- New Braunfels$1,536
- Killeen$1,147
- Sugar Land$1,939
- Pearland$1,759
- Galveston$1,278
- Carrollton$1,674
- Austin$512,700
- Texas$260,400
- United States$303,400
- Cedar Park$474,800
- Georgetown$398,600
- New Braunfels$315,100
- Killeen$196,000
- Sugar Land$406,600
- Pearland$330,900
- Galveston$294,300
- Carrollton$353,600
Taxes
Compare with nearby cities
Questions
Is Austin expensive to live in?
Housing in Austin is more expensive than the national average: median rent is $1,655 (23% above US) and the median home value is $512,700 (69% above US).
How much is rent in Austin?
The median gross rent is $1,655 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,447, 1 bedroom $1,530, 2 bedrooms $1,817, 3 bedrooms $2,292, 4 bedrooms $2,689.
How much of their income do renters spend in Austin?
At the median, a year’s rent ($19,860) equals about 22% of the median household income ($91,461); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Austin?
Sales tax is 8.25% and property taxes run about 1.52% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - City Sales and Use Tax rates (city-rates.xlsx, updated Oct 6, 2026; cross-checked with EDI current rate file taxrates.txt, 2026 Q4).