Spokane, WA vs Austin, TX
Moving from Spokane to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($423,842 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Spokane 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 Spokane, WA, you'd need about $97,375 in Austin, TX (−$2,625).
Livability — Spokane, WA: 59 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,123 sqft in Spokane vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($236 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Spokane, WA | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,588 | $19,620 | +$1,032 |
| 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 | $6,160 | $9,558 | +$3,398 |
| Total | $37,117 | $42,936 | +$5,819 |
Side by side
| Metric | Spokane, WA | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.75% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.74 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $423,842 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $236 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,549 | $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 | 0.88% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 16.6 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 52% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |