Austin, TX vs Duluth, MN
Moving from Austin to Duluth? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $264,350 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Duluth 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 $88,710 in Duluth, MN (−$11,290).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Duluth, MN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,404 sqft in Duluth ($204 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Duluth, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $16,572 | −$3,048 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,846 | +$200 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,375 | −$300 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,776 | −$60 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,200 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $14,852 | +$5,294 |
| Total | $42,936 | $43,621 | +$686 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Duluth, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 87.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 4.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $4.96 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $264,350 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,381 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.12% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 4 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |