#2 of 66 for you
Austin, TX
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
Left over monthly
$3,176
Versus Chicago
+$796/mo
+$9,552 a year
Local pay for your job
$97,562
Local wages run 4% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,712
- Rent$1,226
- Other living costs$2,016
- Left over$3,176
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $97,562
- Federal income tax
- −$13,078
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$7,463
- State income tax (TX)
- None
- Take-home pay
- $77,021
- Effective tax rate
- 21.1%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,226
- Groceries
- $400
- Getting around
- $566
- Healthcare
- $450
- Utilities and internet
- $250
- Everything else
- $350
- Total spending
- $3,242
Left over each month
$8,130 gross, minus $1,712 in tax and $3,242 in living costs.
$3,176
What living here is like
- Weather
- 228 sunny days, 97°F in July, 43°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 27 minutes each way
- Size
- 2.5M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $434,800 — roughly $3,188/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- No state income tax. Sales tax 8.2%, property tax 1.63%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 90
- Sun and mild weather
- 66
- Access to the outdoors
- 74
- City life and culture
- 80
- A short commute
- 55
Chicago vs Austin, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.
- Denver, CO$2,654/mo
Mountains in an hour, 245 sunny days, and a flat 4.4% state tax.