Tulsa, OK vs Austin, TX
Moving from Tulsa to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($253,725 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Tulsa 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 Tulsa, OK, you'd need about $109,323 in Austin, TX (+$9,323).
Livability — Tulsa, OK: 71 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,745 sqft in Tulsa vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($134 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tulsa, OK | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,224 | $19,620 | +$3,396 |
| Groceries | $4,667 | $4,647 | −$21 |
| Transportation | $3,575 | $3,675 | +$100 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,836 | +$396 |
| Insurance | $4,400 | $3,600 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $9,670 | $9,558 | −$111 |
| Total | $39,976 | $42,936 | +$2,960 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tulsa, OK | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.14% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.1% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $253,725 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $134 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,352 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.0% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.99% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.94% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $83 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 94 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.7 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |