Montgomery, AL vs Austin, TX
Moving from Montgomery to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($214,099 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Montgomery 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 Montgomery, AL, you'd need about $109,272 in Austin, TX (+$9,272).
Livability — Montgomery, AL: 73 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,789 sqft in Montgomery vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($104 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Montgomery, AL | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,824 | $19,620 | +$2,796 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,647 | −$83 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,675 | +$210 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,836 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,600 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $8,784 | $9,558 | +$775 |
| Total | $38,086 | $42,936 | +$4,850 |
Side by side
| Metric | Montgomery, AL | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.56% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $214,099 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.7% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $104 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,402 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.32% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |