Cost of living comparison

 Philadelphia (PA), United States
compared to
 Austin (TX), United States
Austin vs. Philadelphia Cost of Living Summary

Austin is 5.5% cheaper than Philadelphia.

Restaurants
pay 2.5% more in Austin
Groceries
pay 18.8% less in Austin
Transportation
pay 16.8% less in Austin
Housing
pay 4.8% more in Austin
Childcare
pay 39.6% less in Austin
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.8% more in Austin
Clothing
pay 19.6% more in Austin

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

Austin vs. Philadelphia Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.5% more for restaurants

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.75
 
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.55
 
$2.62
 

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pay 18.8% less for groceries

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Bread
1 loaf
$3.70
 
$3.60
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.81
 
$6.37
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.99
 
$3.94
 

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pay 16.8% less for transportation

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.72
 
$3.04
 
Monthly public transit pass $96.00
 
$45.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,373.32
 
$35,000.00
 

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pay 4.8% more for housing

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$64.00
 
$70.43
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,759.41
 
$2,280.66
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,330.44
 
$1,508.91
 

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pay 39.6% less for childcare

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,070.83
 
$1,465.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $43,200.00
 
$21,625.00
 

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pay 9.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.86
 
$5.31
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.50
 
$9.00
 

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pay 19.6% more for clothing

 
Philadelphia
Austin
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.50
 
$63.62
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.86
 
$52.38
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.50
 
$89.78
 

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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: June 2025
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