Cost of Living in Austin, 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 6 16 $2,500 $1,620 $3,200 $1,230 $185

Utilities 21 9 — $225 $400 $225 —

Internet & Mobile 3 4 9 $45 $115 $205 $115 $5

Groceries 10 21 22 $150 $520 $1,080 $400 $10

Transportation 2 17 20 $262 $310 $740 $41 $42

Dining Out 23 24 21 $1,200 $580 $780 $215 $88

Leisure Activities 18 26 15 $400 $295 $3,900 $105 $38

Health Insurance 7 14 $63 $485 $1,180 $380 —

Visa & Legal Fees 8 — $50 $50 — —

Total $4,620 $4,200 $11,535 $2,711 $368

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 11 $1,320.00 $1,000 – $1,600 per month

Coworking Space 5 $299.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 6 1 $2,500.00 $2,000 – $2,900 per month

Coliving Space 6 $1,250.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 23 11 $5.59 per cup

Beer 23 11 $7.38 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 24 23 $20.50 per meal

Fast Food Combo 24 $11.95 per meal

Apples 22 11 $4.42 per kg

Bread 21 11 $3.67 per loaf

Milk 10 21 $1.08 per liter

Rice 21 11 $3.29 per kg

Chicken Fillets 10 22 $14.10 per kg

Beef 10 21 $16.15 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 22 11 $15.81 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 23 24 $85.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 22 21 $2.27 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 17 $2.50 per trip

Taxi per km 17 $1.22 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 2 $41.25 per month

Gasoline 13 21 $0.98 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 17 20 $11.00 per trip

Scooter Rental 2 $25.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 3 4 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 9 $70.00 per month

Gym Membership 18 $72.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 2 11 $16.56 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 3 $45.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 26 $13.52 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 21 11 $56.84 per pair

Summer Dress 21 11 $43.56 per dress

Running Shoes 21 11 $93.43 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 21 11 $25.00 per visit

Laundry 21 $1.24 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 25 19 $167.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 19 11 $6.71 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Hanoi, London

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 3400 2500
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1950 1320
- Apples 5.2 4.42
- Beef 16.25 16.15
- Beer 7.5 7.38
38 more changes
- Bread 3.45 3.67
- Chicken Fillets 13.5 14.1
- Cinema Ticket 16.5 13.52
- Coffee 5.75 5.59
- Coliving Space 1450 1250
- Coworking Space 325 299
- Dining Out local 180, nomad 1350, expat 650, family 900, tourist 90 local 215, nomad 1200, expat 580, family 780, tourist 88
- Doctor Visit (GP) 135 167
- Fast Food Combo 12.5 11.95
- Gasoline 0.88 0.98
- Groceries local 450, nomad 150, expat 550, family 1150, tourist 0 local 400, nomad 150, expat 520, family 1080, tourist 10
- Gym Membership 60 72
- Haircut 45 25
- Health Insurance local 320, nomad 75, expat 480, family 1250, tourist 0 local 380, nomad 63, expat 485, family 1180, tourist 0
- Housing local 1450, nomad 2800, expat 2100, family 3400, tourist 185 local 1230, nomad 2500, expat 1620, family 3200, tourist 185
- Internet & Mobile local 95, nomad 320, expat 140, family 210, tourist 10 local 115, nomad 45, family 205, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 75 70
- Jeans 65 56.84
- Laundry 3.5 1.24
- Leisure Activities local 120, nomad 450, expat 350, family 600, tourist 40 local 105, nomad 400, expat 295, family 3900, tourist 38
- Meal (Inexpensive) 18 20.5
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 95 85
- Milk 4.1 1.08
- Mobile Plan 65 45
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 14 6.71
- Rice 4.8 3.29
- Ride-hailing (5km) 16 11
- Running Shoes 110 93.43
- Scooter Rental 7.5 25
- Summer Dress 48 43.56
- Taxi Start 4.5 2.5
- Taxi per km 1.75 1.22
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 22 16.56
- Transportation local 50, nomad 400, expat 450, family 850, tourist 45 local 41.25, nomad 262, expat 310, family 740, tourist 42
- Utilities local 160, nomad 0, expat 220, family 380, tourist 0 local 225, nomad 0, family 400, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 50, family 150 local 0, expat 50, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.25 2.27
- Wine (Mid-range) 18 15.81
Taxi Start, Taxi per km, and Ride-hailing (5km) aligned to City of Austin taxi comparison and Uber Austin sample fares (services.austintexas.gov, uber.com)

Austin cost of living