Yakima, WA vs Austin, TX
Moving from Yakima to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($355,256 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Yakima 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 Yakima, WA, you'd need about $100,382 in Austin, TX (+$382).
Livability — Yakima, WA: 63 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,533 sqft in Yakima vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($197 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Yakima, WA | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $19,620 | +$3,168 |
| 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 | $5,427 | $9,558 | +$4,131 |
| Total | $34,248 | $42,936 | +$8,688 |
Side by side
| Metric | Yakima, WA | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.24% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.2% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.57 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $355,256 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $197 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $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 | 0.84% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 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) | 6.5 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 20.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |