Why people moveto Austin.
Homes cost less than on the coasts, Texas has no state income tax, and the jobs aren't all in tech. Here is the honest math, the weather, and what locals wish they had known.
Same paycheck.More house.
Typical home values, rents and overall prices in Austin next to the cities most people move from. For your own numbers, try our cost-of-living calculator.
City-level Zillow values. Suburbs cost less: about $398,000 in Round Rock and $330,000 in Hutto. The metro median sale price was $412,000 in August 2026. Zillow’s rent index includes apartments; leased single-family homes had a median of $2,150. Chicago homes cost less than Austin’s, but Illinois has a 4.95% income tax and higher property taxes.
Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Observed Rent Index (Aug 2026), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024, released Dec 2025), Unlock MLS (Aug 2026).
No state income tax.Higher property tax.
Texas collects less from your paycheck and more from your house. Know all four parts before you compare.
Texas has no personal income tax. Voters wrote a ban into the state constitution in 2019. Federal tax is the same wherever you live.
Your county, city, school district and others each add a rate. It comes to about 2.1% inside Austin (Austin ISD) and about 1.7% in Round Rock ISD areas. Newer MUD communities can run 0.2–0.45 points higher.
On your primary home, $140,000 comes off the value your school district taxes, starting with tax year 2025. It is $200,000 if you are 65+ or disabled. The taxable value of a homestead can rise no more than 10% a year, even if the market jumps.
That is the 6.25% state rate plus 2% local, the maximum, which Austin and most suburbs charge. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt.
Sources: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Ballotpedia (Prop 13, 2025; Prop 4, 2019), Ballard Property Tax Protest (2025 rates), Texas Tax Code §23.23.
Run the numbers.Then ask your CPA.
Say a married couple earning $120,000 buys a $550,000 home. Here is roughly what they would pay each year in state and local income tax plus property tax.
Illustrative only, not tax advice. Assumes filing jointly with the standard deduction and 2026 state brackets. Austin uses a 2.07% combined rate less the $140K school exemption. California uses 1.15% (a new buyer's rate) and New York City 0.87% (the county average). Leaves out federal tax, deduction limits, payroll taxes and insurance. At $120K the totals come out close. The gap widens as income rises, and the bigger difference is usually the price of the home.
Sources: Tax Foundation (2026 state income tax brackets), NYC Department of Finance (resident income tax rates), Ballard Property Tax Protest (2025 rates), U.S. Census ACS 2020–24 (county effective property tax rates), Zillow (Aug 2026).
Mild winters.Serious summers.
Averages from Camp Mabry, Austin's official weather station (1991–2020). Nights can run several degrees cooler in low-lying east and southeast areas.
About 36 inches of rain a year, often in short, heavy storms. Austin sits in “Flash Flood Alley,” so check the flood map for any address. In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri left about 4.5 million Texas homes and businesses without power, some for days, and burst pipes across Austin. When you tour a home, check the pipe insulation (especially plumbing in the attic), the main water shutoff, the roof's age, and whether it has a generator hookup or transfer switch.
Sources: National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio (Austin Climate Summary; NOAA 1991–2020 normals), NOAA/ACIS Camp Mabry records and Axios (2025–2026 100°F counts), UT Austin Energy Institute (2021 blackout report), Allergy Partners (cedar season).
Five engines,not one.
Austin has about 1.43 million jobs, and they are spread across several industries. When one slows down, the others keep going.
In the year to July 2026, that was the second-fastest growth among the 50 largest metros. Unemployment was 3.9% in August 2026.
Amazon has about 11,000 local jobs and Apple about 10,000, with Dell (about 7,300), IBM (about 6,000), Oracle, Google and Meta. Information jobs fell 4.9% over the year while professional services grew 3.2%.
Samsung Austin has about 4,500 direct jobs, with Applied Materials (about 4,150), AMD (about 4,100) and NXP (about 4,000) nearby. Samsung’s Taylor fab began trial 2nm production in September 2026.
Tesla’s Giga Texas employs about 16,500 people, one of the region’s largest workforces, and SpaceX is expanding in Bastrop. Manufacturing added about 1,400 jobs in the year to July 2026.
Ascension Seton has about 16,200 employees and St. David’s about 13,300, with Baylor Scott & White adding about 6,000. The UT Dell Medical Center with MD Anderson is planned for 2030.
UT Austin employs about 23,900 people. State agencies, the IRS (about 3,400) and Army Futures Command (about 2,400) add steady jobs that don't follow the tech cycle.
Sources: Texas Workforce Commission (Aug 2026); Austin Business Journal, Largest Employers (July 2026); Opportunity Austin (2026); Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (2025); company announcements (2026). Headcounts are approximate local estimates.
Music most nights.Water most weekends.
The reasons people stay. For everyday suburban life and what it costs, see our Living in Austin page.
- Live Music Capital of the World — the city's official slogan since 1991
- Austin City Limits — the longest-running music show on American TV, taped downtown
- ACL Festival — two October weekends in Zilker Park
- Small stages — Red River and South Congress have shows most nights
- Central Texas barbecue — brisket is the benchmark, and lines form early
- Breakfast tacos — an everyday habit, not a trend
- Tex-Mex and food trucks — in every part of town
- Farmers markets — year-round, thanks to mild winters
- Barton Springs — a spring-fed pool that stays near 68°F all year
- Lady Bird Lake — about 10 miles of trail and paddling downtown
- Hill Country lakes — Lake Travis and the Highland Lakes for boating
- Congress Avenue bats — a huge urban bat colony flies out at dusk, spring through fall
- SXSW — film, tech and music every March
- Texas State Capitol and the Blanton Museum of Art
- Formula 1 at Circuit of the Americas each fall
- Longhorns football and Austin FC soccer
Before you decide,what locals know.
Melissa Jung, REALTOR®Six things worth checking before you commit to a move.
Thinking about Austin?Let’s run your numbers.
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