Austin, TX vs Waco, TX
Moving from Austin to Waco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $256,772 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Waco 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 $92,734 in Waco, TX (−$7,266).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Waco, TX: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 4,088 sqft in Waco ($204 vs $122 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Waco, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $16,848 | −$2,772 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,647 | +$0 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,675 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,836 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,600 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $5,779 | −$3,779 |
| Total | $42,936 | $36,385 | −$6,551 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Waco, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 91.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $256,772 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $122 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.3 | 36.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |
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