Kennewick, WA vs Austin, TX
Moving from Kennewick to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($441,524 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Kennewick 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 Kennewick, WA, you'd need about $99,384 in Austin, TX (−$616).
Livability — Kennewick, WA: 61 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,038 sqft in Kennewick vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($245 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kennewick, WA | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,556 | $19,620 | −$936 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,647 | −$599 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,675 | −$400 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,836 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,600 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $6,004 | $9,558 | +$3,554 |
| Total | $38,929 | $42,936 | +$4,007 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kennewick, WA | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.10% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 36 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $441,524 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $245 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,713 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |