Austin vs Cali - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Austin	Cali
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2475	$850
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5680	$2137
🏠 One person rent	$1530	$330
🏘️ Family rent	$2495	$553
🍽️ Food expenses	$627	$294
🚐 Transport expenses	$120	$132
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5010	$505
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	19 km
🎓 Higher education	65	47
😀 Quality of life	90	62
🏙️ Population	962K	2.47M

The cost of living in Austin is 191% more expensive than in Cali. Cities ranked 932nd and 6549th ($2475 vs $850) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 806th and 17th in the United States and Colombia, respectively. Check the United States vs Colombia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Austin compared to 0.6 months in Cali. Austin ranked 46th best city to live in the United States vs Cali ranked 4th in Colombia, while ranked 192nd and 5632nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Austin vs Cali

Prices for goods and services in Austin and Cali are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Austin	Cali
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.4	$5.09
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$68.7	$28.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12	$7.81
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.38	$1.78
☕ Cappuccino	$5.59	$2.67
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.34	$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1888	$346
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1199	$227
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3110	$639
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2018	$396
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$54.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$190	$83.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$68.5	$24.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.41%	11.49%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5778	$1128
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3142	$904
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.75	$0.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$41.7	$32.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.1	$14.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.81	$1.14
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.01	$1.46
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.14	$1.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.86	$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.68	$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.5	$6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.8	$5.99
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.8	$8.08
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.37	$2.86
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.55	$1.14
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.57	$1.29
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.35	$1.32
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$1.06
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.71	$1.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$0.6
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.74	$2.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.8	$12.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.96	$1.29
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.52	$3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.71	$6.65
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.99	$5.27
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.17	$2.31
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.23	$1.83
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$72.4	$25.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.5	$5.15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$167	$35.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.5	$9.54
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.8	$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$93.4	$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1503	$259
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20982	$6818

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Austin

Distance	City	Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi	Pflugerville	$2141
25 km or 15 mi	Round Rock	$2058
25 km or 15 mi	Cedar Park	$2151
31 km or 20 mi	Leander	$2149
37 km or 23 mi	Kyle	$2168
39 km or 24 mi	Georgetown	$2110
51 km or 32 mi	San Marcos	$2125
76 km or 47 mi	New Braunfels	$2123
84 km or 52 mi	Seguin	$2120
86 km or 53 mi	Harker Heights	$1937
90 km or 56 mi	Killeen	$1857
93 km or 58 mi	Copperas Cove	$1963
95 km or 59 mi	Cibolo	$2105
96 km or 60 mi	Schertz	$2093
96 km or 60 mi	Temple	$2070
122 km or 76 mi	San Antonio	$2071
137 km or 85 mi	Bryan	$1950
138 km or 86 mi	Kerrville	$1944
140 km or 87 mi	College Station	$1843
150 km or 93 mi	Waco	$2066
180 km or 112 mi	Victoria	$2003
204 km or 126 mi	Rosenberg	$2096
214 km or 133 mi	Huntsville	$1900
215 km or 133 mi	The Woodlands	$2754
218 km or 136 mi	Stephenville	$2093
218 km or 136 mi	Conroe	$1860
219 km or 136 mi	Sugar Land	$2011
226 km or 140 mi	Missouri	$2093
227 km or 141 mi	Spring	$2107
230 km or 143 mi	Cleburne	$2148
233 km or 145 mi	Corsicana	$2111
234 km or 145 mi	Houston	$2261
248 km or 154 mi	Waxahachie	$2174
249 km or 155 mi	Pearland	$2064
252 km or 156 mi	Burleson	$2164
252 km or 157 mi	Midlothian	$2206
256 km or 159 mi	Pasadena	$2142
258 km or 160 mi	Alvin	$1916
260 km or 161 mi	Friendswood	$2025
260 km or 161 mi	Mansfield	$2316

Cities near Cali

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Palmira	$788
74 km or 46 mi	Buenaventura	$856
80 km or 50 mi	Tulua	$563
111 km or 69 mi	Popayan	$631
148 km or 92 mi	Neiva	$606
154 km or 96 mi	Armenia	$749
160 km or 100 mi	Cartago	$769
170 km or 105 mi	Salento	$749
178 km or 111 mi	Pereira	$862
184 km or 114 mi	Ibague	$537
213 km or 132 mi	Girardot	$559
214 km or 133 mi	Manizales	$737
227 km or 141 mi	Florencia	$524
251 km or 156 mi	Quibdo	$802
262 km or 163 mi	Pasto	$675
285 km or 177 mi	Facatativa	$816
285 km or 177 mi	Soacha	$958
301 km or 187 mi	Bogota	$1106
308 km or 192 mi	Tumaco	$694
316 km or 196 mi	Ipiales	$672
321 km or 200 mi	Envigado	$1041
329 km or 204 mi	Medellin	$1162
330 km or 205 mi	Villavicencio	$593
330 km or 205 mi	Zipaquira	$858
339 km or 210 mi	Bello	$1012
386 km or 240 mi	Ibarra	$557
421 km or 261 mi	Tunja	$680
446 km or 277 mi	Esmeraldas	$613
463 km or 288 mi	Quito	$864
469 km or 291 mi	Duitama	$1045
471 km or 293 mi	Sogamoso	$630
500 km or 311 mi	Barrancabermeja	$1001
504 km or 313 mi	Yopal	$740
506 km or 314 mi	Santo Domingo	$592
518 km or 322 mi	Turbo	$797
554 km or 344 mi	Floridablanca	$795
556 km or 346 mi	Bucaramanga	$816
571 km or 354 mi	Ambato	$516
595 km or 369 mi	Quevedo	$653
596 km or 370 mi	Monteria	$733