Austin vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Austin	San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2475	$3486
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5680	$7909
🏠 One person rent	$1530	$2368
🏘️ Family rent	$2495	$4139
🍽️ Food expenses	$627	$735
🚐 Transport expenses	$120	$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5010	$5217
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	65	86
😀 Quality of life	90	91
🏙️ Population	962K	1.39M

The cost of living in Austin is 29% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 932nd and 52nd ($2475 vs $3486) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 806th and 39th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Austin compared to 1.5 months in San Diego. Ranked 46th vs 38th best cities to live in the United States, and 192nd vs 155th among the 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 San Diego

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

	Austin	San Diego
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.4	$22.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$68.7	$84.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12	$15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.38	$8.97
☕ Cappuccino	$5.59	$6.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.34	$3.17
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1888	$2489
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1199	$2046
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3110	$4508
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2018	$3643
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$162
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$190	$251
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$68.5	$71.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.41%	6.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5778	$8050
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3142	$6577
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.75	$2.5
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$41.7	$71.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.1	$19.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.81	$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.01	$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.14	$4.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.86	$3.81
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.68	$7.04
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.5	$16
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.8	$13.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.8	$20.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.37	$4.24
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.55	$1.77
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.57	$4.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.35	$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$2.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.71	$2.63
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$1.5
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.74	$3.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.8	$16.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.96	$3
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.52	$12.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.71	$15.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.99	$9.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.17	$5.48
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.23	$2.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$72.4	$72.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.5	$19.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$167	$131
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.5	$30.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.8	$66.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$93.4	$112
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1503	$1937
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20982	$22295

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 San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3269
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3094
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$3023
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$3033
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2997
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2984
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$3065
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$3077
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1276
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2956
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$3012
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3265
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1126
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1108
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3274
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$3008
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3269
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$3011
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3221
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2984
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2690
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2994
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3137
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$3051
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2799
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3075
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2850
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3492
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3129
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2646
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$967
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2663
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3520
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3064
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2984
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3503
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2598
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2768
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2738
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2826