Lincoln, NE vs Austin, TX
Moving from Lincoln to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($304,242 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Lincoln 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 Lincoln, NE, you'd need about $106,946 in Austin, TX (+$6,946).
Livability — Lincoln, NE: 68 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,793 sqft in Lincoln vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($179 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lincoln, NE | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,128 | $19,620 | +$3,492 |
| Groceries | $4,827 | $4,647 | −$181 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $3,675 | +$375 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,836 | +$396 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,600 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $11,420 | $9,558 | −$1,861 |
| Total | $40,715 | $42,936 | +$2,221 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lincoln, NE | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.0% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.23 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $304,242 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $179 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,344 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.97% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.20% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.59% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 19 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $79 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 28.0 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |