What is the cost of living in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 120.4, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,852/month.

What is the median salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

The median salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is $71,789 annually (mean: $76,586). Top occupations include General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives.

How safe is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

The violent crime rate in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area is 395 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

The state of TX has 9,061 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

Infant center-based childcare in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area averages $7,566 per year. Preschool averages $6,926/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos a good place to relocate?

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has a Life Score of 48.4/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranks #321 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

LiveAbility 40.5/100 places Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos #321 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,852
2BR rent / mo: $71,789
Median salary: 40.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranks #321 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (40.5/100), with its strongest marks in climate and job market.

#321
of 387 US metros · Below median: 31,290,831
metro-area population: 395
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 9,061
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (6/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranks #321 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,852/mo, median salary $71,789; LiveAbility Score 40.5/100, strongest in climate and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 40.5/100 places Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos #321 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,852/mo.

LiveAbility 40.5/100 puts Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos in the bottom third (#321 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area is 1,265,270.

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

41 Top 84% higher than 16% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA; housing RPP 120.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,852/mo.

Studio

$1,474

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,562

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,852

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,347

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,760

/month

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos wages and employment

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos posts 1,265,270 total employment with median salary $71,789 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$71,789

Mean Salary

$76,586

Total Employment

1,265,270

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
General and Operations Managers	$117,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,310
Customer Service Representatives	$43,720
Software Developers	$134,120
Retail Salespersons	$33,860

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area from NCES.

Schools

9,061

Enrollment

5,491,723

Student:Teacher

14.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos's composite Life Score is 48.4/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

29/100

Weak

Wages

78/100

Strong

Rent

12/100

Bottom decile

Crime

35/100

Below average

Schools

35/100

Below average

Childcare

78/100

Strong

Environment

84/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranks #321 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 40.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (95/100)

Climate

95
Job market

79
Schools

65
Safety

35
Cost of living

29
Air quality

15
Housing

12
Low hazard

6

What this shows Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos's strongest dimensions are climate and job market; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 6/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to

Hanford-Corcoran Harrisburg-Carlisle Harrisonburg Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford Hattiesburg Helena

Metros near Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos runs a $71,789 median salary at a 98.1 cost index, ranking #321 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.