Austin, TX vs Clarksville, TN
Moving from Austin to Clarksville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $292,990 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Clarksville 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 $93,261 in Clarksville, TN (−$6,739).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Clarksville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,413 sqft in Clarksville ($204 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Clarksville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $16,104 | −$3,516 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,716 | +$69 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,130 | −$545 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,608 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,200 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $4,758 | −$4,800 |
| Total | $42,936 | $32,516 | −$10,420 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Clarksville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 91.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 6.16% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 15.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.22 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $292,990 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | -0.7% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,342 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |