Austin, TX vs Mobile, AL
Moving from Austin to Mobile? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $197,857 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Mobile 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 $90,295 in Mobile, AL (−$9,705).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Mobile, AL: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 5,181 sqft in Mobile ($204 vs $97 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Mobile, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $15,876 | −$3,744 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,729 | +$83 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,465 | −$210 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,884 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $9,039 | −$519 |
| Total | $42,936 | $37,393 | −$5,543 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Mobile, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 88.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 5.91% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.05 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $197,857 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $97 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,323 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |