Austin, TX vs Salem, OR
Moving from Austin to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Salem 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 $104,256 in Salem, OR (+$4,256).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($204 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $19,536 | −$84 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,239 | +$592 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,680 | +$5 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,704 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $900 | −$2,700 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $13,135 | +$3,577 |
| Total | $42,936 | $44,194 | +$1,258 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |