Austin, TX vs Roanoke, VA
Moving from Austin to Roanoke? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $301,139 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Roanoke 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 $92,805 in Roanoke, VA (−$7,195).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Roanoke, VA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,320 sqft in Roanoke ($204 vs $151 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Roanoke, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $16,836 | −$2,784 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,853 | +$207 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,080 | −$595 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,872 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $9,549 | −$9 |
| Total | $42,936 | $37,690 | −$5,246 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Roanoke, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $301,139 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 3.8% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $151 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,403 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.3 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 8.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |