Boulder, CO vs Austin, TX
Moving from Boulder to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Boulder vs Austin 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 Boulder, CO, you'd need about $97,676 in Austin, TX (−$2,324).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($383 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $19,620 | −$7,464 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,647 | −$167 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,675 | −$375 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,836 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,600 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $9,558 | −$1,120 |
| Total | $51,214 | $42,936 | −$8,279 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $204 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |