Salem, OR vs Austin, TX
Moving from Salem to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $95,917 in Austin, TX (−$4,083).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($268 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $19,620 | +$84 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,647 | −$592 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,675 | −$5 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,836 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $900 | $3,600 | +$2,700 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $9,558 | −$3,577 |
| Total | $44,194 | $42,936 | −$1,258 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |