Austin, TX vs Fargo, ND
Moving from Austin to Fargo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $327,854 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Fargo 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 $90,699 in Fargo, ND (−$9,301).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Fargo, ND: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 2,592 sqft in Fargo ($204 vs $193 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Fargo, ND | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $13,872 | −$5,748 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,850 | +$203 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,130 | −$545 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,332 | −$504 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,100 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $8,083 | −$1,475 |
| Total | $42,936 | $33,367 | −$9,569 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Fargo, ND |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 8.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $327,854 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 3.2% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $193 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,156 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.04% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.20% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 18 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 12.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 290 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | -2 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |