Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Halden

For one person, living costs are similar in Austin, TX and in Halden: $2,663 and $2,552 a month, rent and utilities included.

130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Halden
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Halden Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Halden

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Halden

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Austin, TX and in Halden actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,663 in Austin, TX versus $2,552 in Halden.

Austin, TX $2,663
Halden $2,552

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $3,967 in Halden.

Austin, TX $4,133
Halden $3,967

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,603 in Austin, TX versus $5,381 in Halden.

Austin, TX $5,603
Halden $5,381

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 4% more expensive than in Halden, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Austin, TX 97% above, Halden 89% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 $20.77

$20.99 NOK 198

-1.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$105 NOK 987

-19.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 $12.32

$12.74 NOK 120

-3.30%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$4.76 NOK 44.82

18.28%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 $3.72

$3.71 NOK 34.92

0.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$3.09 NOK 29.06

-19.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$10.07 NOK 94.8

-20.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 $9.01

$9.63 NOK 90.7

-6.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$2.43 NOK 22.92

-53.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$4.08 NOK 38.43

-8.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$4.06 NOK 38.20

-19.70%

Eggs

$4.17 $4.17

$4.66 NOK 43.86

-10.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 $12.90

$14.82 NOK 139

-12.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$15.33 NOK 144

-7.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.22 $16.22

$31.09 NOK 293

-47.83%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$3.22 NOK 30.32

34.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.58 NOK 24.32

-43.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$3.55 NOK 33.43

27.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$4.00 NOK 37.65

8.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$2.58 NOK 24.30

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$2.78 NOK 26.20

-15.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$3.15 NOK 29.68

-43.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$2.06 NOK 19.42

7.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 $9.88

$15.31 NOK 144

-35.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.08 $15.08

$16.46 NOK 155

-8.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$2.77 NOK 26.07

5.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$4.07 NOK 38.34

-14.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$4.73 NOK 44.56

-68.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

$43.05 NOK 405

-3.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$12.05 NOK 113

-77.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.84 NOK 17.36

-9.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.30 $35.30

$69.8 NOK 657

-49.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$2.19 NOK 20.63

-56.62%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.0K $36.0K

$47.1K NOK 443.2K

-23.43%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.1K $27.1K

$43.5K NOK 409.3K

-37.73%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$229 $229

$417 NOK 3,930

-45.15%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$59.4 $59.4

$31.39 NOK 296

89.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.9 $69.9

$53.5 NOK 503

30.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

$56.7 NOK 533

1.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

$31.23 NOK 294

-47.71%

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 $14.28

$15.87 NOK 149

-10.02%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,506 $1,506

$235 NOK 2,212

540.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$15.6K NOK 147.3K

37.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$99.2 NOK 933

-46.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 $43.82

$59.6 NOK 561

-26.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 $84.8

$135 NOK 1,273

-37.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$126 NOK 1,190

-18.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 $1,907

$939 NOK 8,837

103.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

$843 NOK 7,939

51.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

$1,914 NOK 18.0K

91.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,538 $2,538

$1,677 NOK 15.8K

51.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,614 $7,614

$2,058 NOK 19.4K

270.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,157 $3,157

$1,848 NOK 17.4K

70.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

$3,445 NOK 32.4K

48.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

4.75

42.95%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for Halden: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8%

Halden

$843 33.1% 33.8% $431

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$405 15.2%

Halden

$486 19% 20.1% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$358 13.5%

Halden

$502 19.7% 40.2% $144

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$354 13.3%

Halden

$360 14.1% 1.8% $6.2

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.8%

Halden

$189 7.4% 47.8% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

Halden

$88 3.5% 3% $2.6

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$59 2.2%

Halden

$83 3.3% 41.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,907 in Austin, TX and $939 in Halden. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 49% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $105 in Halden for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $405 vs $486 per month, with Austin, TX cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇳🇴 Halden

🕒 Local time

14:26 2:26 PM

21:26 9:26 PM

7 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

31,965

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

NOK to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Austin, TX Halden 8,160 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Halden

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Austin, TX vs Halden: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Halden wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Halden the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Austin, TX, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,907 in Austin, TX versus $939 in Halden. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,663 per month in Austin, TX versus $2,552 in Halden – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Halden runs roughly 3% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $2,552 in Halden versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Halden but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Halden the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Austin, TX and Halden are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Halden gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.