Austin, TX vs South Bend, IN
Moving from Austin to South Bend? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $238,866 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs South Bend 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 $92,981 in South Bend, IN (−$7,019).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · South Bend, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,978 sqft in South Bend ($204 vs $126 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | South Bend, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $16,080 | −$3,540 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,734 | +$87 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,250 | −$425 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,932 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,600 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $7,022 | −$2,536 |
| Total | $42,936 | $34,618 | −$8,318 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | South Bend, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.85% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $238,866 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $126 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,340 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |