Austin vs Tucson - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Austin	Tucson
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2444	$1930
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5560	$4538
🏠 One person rent	$1531	$1129
🏘️ Family rent	$2491	$1921
🍽️ Food expenses	$605	$579
🚐 Transport expenses	$120	$86.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4939	$3744
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	7 km
🎓 Higher education	65	33
😀 Quality of life	90	84
🏙️ Population	962K	543K

The cost of living in Austin is 27% more expensive than in Tucson. Cities ranked 985th and 2278th ($2444 vs $1930) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 845th and 1724th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Austin compared to 1.9 months in Tucson. Ranked 54th vs 164th best cities to live in the United States, and 217th vs 490th 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 Tucson

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

	Austin	Tucson
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.4	$15.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$70.5	$65.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.4	$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.38	$6.25
☕ Cappuccino	$5.62	$5.24
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.98	$2.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1919	$1140
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1200	$876
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3122	$1996
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2017	$1560
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$119	$135
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$185	$208
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$68	$64.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.32%	6.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5020	$3141
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3187	$2502
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.05	$2.33
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$41.7	$39.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.1	$14.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.72	$0.86
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.96	$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.96	$2.83
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.88	$4.42
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.12	$4.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$12.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$10.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.7	$15.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.23	$4
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.57	$1.71
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.96	$3.64
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.8	$3.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.41	$2.2
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$2.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.48	$1.57
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.75	$2.43
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.8	$14.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.85	$3.27
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.32	$10.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.76	$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.05	$4.02
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.18	$3.32
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.21	$1.73
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$70.3	$33.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.7	$12.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$148	$92.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.6	$16.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$55.6	$48.5
👟 Brand Sneakers	$95.5	$87.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1382	$1109
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$21398	$15659

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	$2115
25 km or 15 mi	Round Rock	$2027
25 km or 15 mi	Cedar Park	$2171
31 km or 20 mi	Leander	$2187
37 km or 23 mi	Kyle	$2237
39 km or 24 mi	Georgetown	$2125
51 km or 32 mi	San Marcos	$2229
76 km or 47 mi	New Braunfels	$2221
84 km or 52 mi	Seguin	$2200
86 km or 53 mi	Harker Heights	$2059
90 km or 56 mi	Killeen	$1991
93 km or 58 mi	Copperas Cove	$2083
95 km or 59 mi	Cibolo	$2175
96 km or 60 mi	Schertz	$2174
96 km or 60 mi	Temple	$2153
122 km or 76 mi	San Antonio	$2063
137 km or 85 mi	Bryan	$2000
138 km or 86 mi	Kerrville	$2165
140 km or 87 mi	College Station	$1913
150 km or 93 mi	Waco	$2285
180 km or 112 mi	Victoria	$2226
204 km or 126 mi	Rosenberg	$2114
214 km or 133 mi	Huntsville	$2022
215 km or 133 mi	The Woodlands	$2738
218 km or 136 mi	Stephenville	$2150
218 km or 136 mi	Conroe	$1836
219 km or 136 mi	Sugar Land	$2071
226 km or 140 mi	Missouri	$2094
227 km or 141 mi	Spring	$2112
230 km or 143 mi	Cleburne	$2177
233 km or 145 mi	Corsicana	$2189
234 km or 145 mi	Houston	$2265
248 km or 154 mi	Waxahachie	$2196
249 km or 155 mi	Pearland	$2150
252 km or 156 mi	Burleson	$2175
252 km or 157 mi	Midlothian	$2193
256 km or 159 mi	Pasadena	$2228
258 km or 160 mi	Alvin	$2072
260 km or 161 mi	Friendswood	$2136
260 km or 161 mi	Mansfield	$2302

Cities near Tucson

Distance	City	Cost of living
16 km or 9.9 mi	Casas Adobes	$2005
23 km or 14 mi	Oro Valley	$2050
26 km or 16 mi	Marana	$2089
33 km or 20 mi	Sahuarita	$2059
97 km or 60 mi	Nogales	$2110
97 km or 60 mi	Sierra Vista	$1638
100 km or 62 mi	Nogales	$776
101 km or 62 mi	Florence	$2444
106 km or 66 mi	Casa Grande	$2366
133 km or 83 mi	Queen Creek	$3022
140 km or 87 mi	Maricopa	$2227
145 km or 90 mi	Apache Junction	$2490
148 km or 92 mi	Chandler	$2396
149 km or 93 mi	Gilbert	$2381
157 km or 98 mi	Mesa	$2298
164 km or 102 mi	Agua Prieta	$863
164 km or 102 mi	Tempe	$2435
169 km or 105 mi	Scottsdale	$2471
171 km or 106 mi	Fountain Hills	$2384
181 km or 112 mi	Phoenix	$2357
189 km or 118 mi	Avondale	$2359
190 km or 118 mi	Goodyear	$2338
193 km or 120 mi	Glendale	$1961
195 km or 121 mi	Peoria	$2345
201 km or 125 mi	Buckeye	$2324
202 km or 126 mi	El Mirage	$2312
204 km or 126 mi	Caborca	$890
206 km or 128 mi	Surprise	$2353
295 km or 183 mi	Prescott Valley	$2317
295 km or 183 mi	Prescott	$2316
337 km or 210 mi	Flagstaff	$2589
347 km or 216 mi	Hermosillo	$1087
350 km or 217 mi	Nuevo Casas Grandes	$896
350 km or 217 mi	Yuma	$1764
361 km or 225 mi	San Luis Rio Colorado	$978
362 km or 225 mi	San Luis	$1919
376 km or 233 mi	Blythe	$2798
391 km or 243 mi	Las Cruces	$1641
403 km or 250 mi	Lake Havasu	$1993
419 km or 260 mi	Gallup	$2190