Austin, TX vs Columbus, GA
Moving from Austin to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Columbus 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 $90,399 in Columbus, GA (−$9,601).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($204 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $15,336 | −$4,284 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,816 | +$169 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,515 | −$160 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,656 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,100 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $9,327 | −$231 |
| Total | $42,936 | $36,750 | −$6,186 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |