Cost of Living in Austin, TX (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Austin is $1,326, with one-bedrooms at $1,174 and two-bedrooms at $1,429. Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth rent within $12 of one another at the median, above Houston and San Antonio and below the national median.

A renter living alone in a median one-bedroom should plan on about $1,691 a month for rent, electricity, and groceries, before water, transportation, and anything else. Austin's median rent is about 21% below its August 2022 peak of $1,673. The decline has slowed: rents were falling 6.06% a year in September 2025 and 2.33% a year in September 2026. The steep drops that followed the peak are now small ones.

Austin Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Austin in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in Austin is $1,174, according to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,429 and the all-sizes median is $1,326.

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is the market midpoint, so it's less swayed than an average by a handful of very expensive listings. Apartment List's methodology frames it as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only what's advertised right now.

Austin's median rent fell 2.33% over the 12 months through September 2026, against a 0.39% decline nationally, and slipped 0.07% in September alone. That is the 17th-largest decline among the 100 largest U.S. cities. These are citywide figures, and they don't establish what any one building is asking. Ask each property about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, then compare the quote with the medians above.

How Does Austin Rent Compare With Other Texas Cities?

Austin runs level with Dallas, a little below Fort Worth, and above Houston and San Antonio on the all-sizes median, and all of them rent below the national median.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. City-level medians at the same grain, not total-cost comparisons.

Austin and Dallas are two dollars apart at the median, well inside a single month of ordinary movement, so treat them as the same price rather than ranking one above the other. Fort Worth is $10 above Austin, close enough that the three read as a group. The clearer gaps run the other way: San Antonio is $205 below Austin, El Paso $144 below, and Houston $57 below, and the national median is $62 above. Beyond Texas, Phoenix is $71 below Austin and Nashville $44 above. Before you treat a lower-rent city as savings, compare the same unit size and price the commute in each place; the Dallas and Houston guides cover the other side of those moves.

Austin's $1,326 median is also 2.1% above the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro's $1,299. On one-bedrooms the gap is 2.8% and on two-bedrooms 4.2%, so the unit size you search for doesn't change the answer. The metro figure includes Austin itself alongside Round Rock, Georgetown, and the surrounding communities, so read it as a regional benchmark rather than a measure of what the suburbs cost.

What Income Corresponds to Austin Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using the $1,174 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $46,960 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median between two renters ($714.50 each, shown rounded). Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, and HUD counts utilities inside it where this table does not, so add the electricity figure above to get closer to a housing budget. Use gross income here; the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for take-home pay, so its answer will differ.

Treat these as planning benchmarks, not salary requirements or screening rules. Many renter budgets don't fit beneath 30%: Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than that on rent in 2024, a national figure rather than an Austin one. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

Texas has no state income tax, so a $46,960 salary here isn't reduced by a state wage tax the way the same salary would be in a state that levies one. Texas offsets that with higher property and sales taxes.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford an Austin Apartment?

Work backward from your income. Multiply your gross annual income by 0.30 and divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling at the 30% benchmark. On a $60,000 gross salary that is about $1,500 a month. Austin's one-bedroom median is $1,174 (Apartment List, October 2026 report), which leaves about $326 between the median and that ceiling. Electricity at the planning figure above takes $77 of it, leaving room for water, internet, and a parking or pet fee, or for a two-bedroom at the $1,429 median if you'd rather have the space. Then run the same math on the listing's rent rather than the city median, add the costs your household carries, ask what rent includes and how any shared bills are divided, and compare that fuller estimate against your income, debts, and savings goals before applying. If you'll share rent, confirm how the property weighs co-applicants, since qualification rules vary. The Rent Calculator runs it against your actual income, and our guide to finding an apartment in your budget walks through the rest.

What Should You Budget for Beyond Rent in Austin?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately. Austin is spread out, and whether you need a car depends on your address and commute, so price parking, insurance, fuel, and the drive before you count on transit.

How Much Does Electricity Cost in Austin?

Budget about $77 a month at 500 kWh, before the 1% city sales tax. Austin Energy is the city-owned utility, so there's no plan to shop, and the City Council sets its rates each year; the schedule that took effect October 1, 2026 raised base rates 5% and lowered the fuel pass-through, which added about $3.50 to a 500 kWh bill. The headline energy rate is under 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, but pass-through charges and a $17.35 monthly customer charge more than double what you pay, so compare bills rather than advertised rates. Above 900 kWh the energy rate steps up by about half, and Austin Energy's own example for a typical 860 kWh month comes to about $122 with tax, so ask the building what a recent August bill came to on a comparable apartment and whether it has central air.

How Much Are Water and Wastewater Bills in Austin?

On Austin Water's single-family residential rate with a standard 5/8-inch meter, 2,000 gallons a month comes to about $44 for water and wastewater together under the rates that took effect October 1, 2026, up from about $41. Above 2,000 gallons the wastewater rate roughly doubles, to $14.93 per 1,000 gallons, so treat $44 as the bottom of the range; wastewater volume is billed on your winter average rather than the current month, so summer use doesn't raise the sewer half. Apartments are often on the multifamily rate instead, billed to the property and passed to you through rent, an allocation, or a submeter, which is why the monthly totals in this guide leave water out. Ask whether water and wastewater are billed to you directly, allocated across the building, or included in rent.

How Much Is Public Transit in Austin?

CapMetro charges $1.25 a ride on local buses and Rapid, with fares capped at $2.50 a service day and $41.25 a calendar month, so a daily commuter pays the cap and nothing more. Rail and Express cost $3.50 a ride with a $96.25 monthly cap. Fares rise on January 10, 2027, to $1.50 a ride and a $49.50 monthly cap, the first system-wide increase since 2015. Coverage varies sharply by neighborhood, so check the route and schedule for the specific apartment at the hour you'd travel before you count on transit replacing a car.

How Much Should You Budget for Groceries in Austin?

The national USDA Moderate-Cost plan puts groceries for one adult at about $440 a month, as of the August 2026 report. That's a national benchmark for food you cook at home, not an Austin price, so treat it as a starting point and adjust for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Austin Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. The shared column splits one two-bedroom and one electric bill between two renters; groceries do not split. Water, transportation, internet, insurance, and parking are excluded; see the appendix.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $459 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom on your own, roughly $5,508 a year, and $498 less once you count the shared power bill. The $255 step from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is about 21.7% here, a little wider than the 19.5% typical across the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report). The savings come from the split itself rather than from an unusually cheap second bedroom.

Compare Austin With Your Current City

If you are moving to Austin from somewhere else, compare total cost rather than rent alone. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax income and includes data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. Austin's median is below the national one, $1,326 against $1,388 (Apartment List, October 2026 report), and a comparison against your current city will price that gap along with the parts of an Austin budget that rent doesn't cover, starting with a summer electricity bill.

What Should You Check Before Applying for an Austin Apartment?

An application fee is an up-front, usually non-refundable charge for screening your application, separate from the refundable security deposit and from any one-time move-in fee, so run the numbers before you pay one. Add up the listing's rent and the unit-level fees disclosed on its detail page (application, admin, pet, and parking), confirm whether water is billed to you or included, ask what a recent summer electricity bill came to and whether the unit is individually metered, and ask whether a parking space is included and what a second one costs. Get the total move-in amount in writing. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee of its own, so every fee you're checking belongs to the property.

The citywide median is a starting point, not your ceiling. The cheapest neighborhoods in Austin guide ranks places to start if price is driving your search, the best Austin neighborhoods guide covers lifestyle fit, and the safest Austin neighborhoods guide adds published safety data to the same search. Rate My Rent grades a listing you're already considering against comparable local apartments. Then browse Austin apartments and run the check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026, built on the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

The $1,691 monthly planning total combines the median one-bedroom rent with the electricity and grocery estimates from the At-a-Glance table. Electricity is the Austin Energy inside-city rate at 500 kWh before the 1% city sales tax, so a summer bill runs higher. Water is excluded because most apartments are billed through the property on the multifamily rate rather than directly. The total also excludes transportation, internet, insurance, parking, and anything discretionary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Austin Rent and Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Austin?

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, the median all-sizes rent in Austin is $1,326, with one-bedrooms at $1,174 and two-bedrooms at $1,429. Apartment List reports a median rather than an average, because a median better represents a typical apartment and is less distorted by a handful of luxury units.

Is Austin Cheaper Than Dallas or Houston?

Not than Houston, and Dallas is a tie. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Austin's all-sizes median of $1,326 is two dollars above Dallas at $1,324, which is too close to call a difference, and $57 above Houston at $1,269. San Antonio is $205 below Austin and El Paso $144 below, so Austin remains among the more expensive large Texas cities alongside Dallas and Fort Worth.

Is Austin Rent Above or Below the National Median?

Below. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Austin's all-sizes median of $1,326 is $62 under the national median of $1,388, or about 4% lower. Austin's rents also fell faster over the past year, 2.33% against 0.39% nationally, so the gap widened.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Austin?

Austin doesn't have one required renter salary. Using the $1,174 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $46,960 in annual gross income, and the $1,429 two-bedroom to about $57,160, within the 30% of gross income HUD treats as affordable. Landlords set their own qualification rules, and separately paid costs also affect what works for your budget.

How Much Are Utilities in Austin?

Electricity at 500 kWh runs about $77 a month on Austin Energy's inside-city rate before the 1% city sales tax, and the utility's own example for a typical 860 kWh month is about $122 with tax, so expect summer to run well above the planning figure. Water and wastewater on the single-family rate come to about $44 at 2,000 gallons, but apartments are often billed through the property instead, so confirm with each building whether water is included in rent, allocated, or submetered.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It's a planning benchmark, not a rule or an approval standard, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income, including utilities, as cost-burdened. Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2024, and 26.1% were severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not Austin-specific. Use the 30% figure to see what a given rent leaves for everything else, then decide what fits.

How Do Solo and Shared Austin Budgets Compare?

Using the medians from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, a two-bedroom costs about $715 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,174 for a one-bedroom on your own, a difference of about $459 a month, or $5,508 a year, before utilities and fees. The two-bedroom itself runs $255 more than the one-bedroom; that is the cost of the larger apartment, not the cost per person. With electricity and groceries added, a solo renter is looking at about $1,691 a month and each roommate at about $1,193, before water, transportation, and fees. That $715 share corresponds to about $28,580 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.