Austin, TX vs Worcester, MA
Moving from Austin to Worcester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $482,611 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Worcester 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 $104,789 in Worcester, MA (+$4,789).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Worcester, MA: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 1,761 sqft in Worcester ($204 vs $284 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Worcester, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $26,184 | +$6,564 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,938 | +$291 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,210 | −$465 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $3,180 | +$1,344 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,800 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $16,011 | +$6,453 |
| Total | $42,936 | $55,322 | +$12,387 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Worcester, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 103.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 5.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.86 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $482,611 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $284 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $2,182 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.39% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |