The Austin Cost-of-Living Index measures how expensive it is to live in Austin against the US national average of 100. Austin’s composite index of roughly 120 means everyday life costs about 20% more than a typical American city, driven mainly by housing. This tool breaks the index into categories, lets you reweight it for your own budget, and converts a salary from any city into the Austin-equivalent figure that preserves your standard of living.
How it works
A cost-of-living index sets the US average to 100. A category index of 140 means that category
costs 40% more than average; 90 means 10% less. The composite index is a weighted average:
composite = Σ (categoryIndex x weight) where the weights sum to 1 and represent the share of
your budget each category consumes. Adjusting weights personalizes the result — heavy spenders on
rent see a higher number than the generic basket.
For salary conversion, equal purchasing power means
austin salary = your salary x (austin composite / your city index). So a $80,000 salary in a
city indexed at 100 needs about $96,000 in Austin at an index of 120 to feel the same.
Category notes and example
- Housing carries Austin’s biggest premium and dominates the composite.
- Groceries and utilities sit close to the national average.
- Transportation and healthcare run modestly above average.
Example: with default weights the composite resolves near 120. A renter who pushes the housing weight up will see their personal index climb past it, while a homeowner with a low fixed mortgage may sit below the headline figure. Remember the index reflects prices only — Texas’s lack of a state income tax is a separate, often favorable, factor.