Austin, TX vs Appleton, WI
Moving from Austin to Appleton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $350,370 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Appleton at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Austin, TX, you'd need about $95,380 in Appleton, WI (−$4,620).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Appleton, WI: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 2,426 sqft in Appleton ($204 vs $206 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Appleton, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $14,604 | −$5,016 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,691 | +$45 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,085 | −$590 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,076 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $13,083 | +$3,525 |
| Total | $42,936 | $38,839 | −$4,097 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Appleton, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 93.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 2.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $350,370 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 6.1% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $206 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,217 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.56% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.3 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |