Cost of living comparison

compared to
Austin vs. Arizona Cost of Living Summary

Austin is 13.4% more expensive than Arizona.

Restaurants
pay 2.1% less in Austin
Groceries
pay 4.9% more in Austin
Transportation
pay 4.2% less in Austin
Housing
pay 4.7% more in Austin
Childcare
pay 57.6% more in Austin
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.5% more in Austin
Clothing
pay 20.4% more in Austin

The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Austin are more expensive than in Arizona. Expenses including transportation and restaurants are lower in Austin.

Austin vs. Arizona Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Austin instead of Arizona, you would:

pay 2.1% less for restaurants

 
Arizona
Austin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.56
 
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.75
 
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.58
 
$2.62
 

Improve prices ·

pay 4.9% more for groceries

 
Arizona
Austin
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$3.60
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.20
 
$6.37
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.50
 
$3.94
 

Improve prices ·

pay 4.2% less for transportation

 
Arizona
Austin
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.79
 
$3.04
 
Monthly public transit pass $53.40
 
$45.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,537.50
 
$35,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 4.7% more for housing

 
Arizona
Austin
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$80.87
 
$70.43
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,573.68
 
$2,280.66
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,370.59
 
$1,508.91
 

Improve prices ·

pay 57.6% more for childcare

 
Arizona
Austin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,069.58
 
$1,465.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,135.00
 
$21,625.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 12.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Arizona
Austin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.76
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.21
 
$5.31
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.94
 
$9.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 20.4% more for clothing

 
Arizona
Austin
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.15
 
$63.62
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.56
 
$52.38
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.98
 
$89.78
 

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025
Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Austin or Arizona. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.