Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and San Fernando

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,130 a month against $2,698 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
Learn more

Austin, TX Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
Learn more

San Fernando Living Index

Jump to prices

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,698

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in San Fernando

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 San Fernando actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,698 in Austin, TX versus $1,130 in San Fernando.

Austin, TX $2,698
San Fernando $1,130

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,160 in Austin, TX versus $1,832 in San Fernando.

Austin, TX $4,160
San Fernando $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,622 in Austin, TX versus $2,534 in San Fernando.

Austin, TX $5,622
San Fernando $2,534

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 139% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 99% above, San Fernando is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.63 $20.63

$10.75 MX$199

91.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$43.30 MX$800

95.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.07 $12.07

$8.42 MX$156

43.35%

Cappuccino

$5.48 $5.48

$3.63 MX$67.0

50.96%

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

$3.80 $3.80

$1.42 MX$26.21

167.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$1.06 MX$19.52

133.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$2.42 MX$44.65

232.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.88 $8.88

$4.15 MX$76.7

113.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 $1.11

$1.60 MX$29.59

-30.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.72 $3.72

$2.68 MX$49.57

38.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.37 $3.37

$1.71 MX$31.53

97.08%

Eggs

$4.32 $4.32

$2.53 MX$46.78

70.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.13 $13.13

$8.19 MX$151

60.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.15 $14.15

$8.27 MX$153

71.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.33 $16.33

$11.60 MX$214

40.78%

Apples (1kg)

$4.55 $4.55

$2.67 MX$49.25

70.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.60 MX$29.50

-8.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$1.97 MX$36.32

139.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 $4.15

$1.84 MX$33.96

125.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$1.97 MX$36.36

30.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.82 MX$33.57

29.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.43 MX$26.41

23.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.14 MX$21.00

87.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.10 $10.10

$4.32 MX$79.9

133.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.19 $15.19

$10.48 MX$194

44.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.79 MX$33.11

57.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 $3.44

$3.20 MX$59.2

7.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 $1.54

$0.64 MX$11.85

140.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.99 $40.99

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.80 $2.80

$2.56 MX$47.39

9.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 $1.60

$2.01 MX$37.15

-20.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.34 $34.34

$10.82 MX$200

217.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.49 MX$27.45

-36.91%

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

$34.0K $34.0K

$21.0K MX$387.5K

62.03%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$23.7K MX$438.6K

12.76%

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

$223 $223

$57.0 MX$1,054

290.48%

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

$58.9 $58.9

$22.91 MX$423

157.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.6 $70.6

$29.54 MX$546

138.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 $57.7

$33.60 MX$621

71.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.53 $16.53

$20.12 MX$372

-17.84%

Cinema Ticket

$14.26 $14.26

$5.23 MX$96.6

172.66%

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

$1,511 $1,511

$220 MX$4,060

587.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K $20.9K

$4,534 MX$83.8K

360.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.3 $51.3

$54.3 MX$1,003

-5.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.17 $44.17

$40.69 MX$752

8.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 $87.0

$98.8 MX$1,825

-11.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$90.3 MX$1,669

15.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,940 $1,940

$612 MX$11.3K

216.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 $1,316

$383 MX$7,076

243.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

$1,030 MX$19.0K

255.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,565 $2,565

$779 MX$14.4K

229.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,354 $7,354

$1,910 MX$35.3K

285.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,129 $3,129

$1,160 MX$21.4K

169.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,286 $5,286

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

11.3

-39.91%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 19, 2026

Last update for San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.8%

San Fernando

$383 33.9% 70.9% $933

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$406 15.1%

San Fernando

$266 23.5% 34.6% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$352 13.1%

San Fernando

$109 9.7% 68.9% $243

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$350 13%

San Fernando

$185 16.4% 47.1% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.8%

San Fernando

$128 11.3% 1% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

San Fernando

$44 3.9% 48.9% $42

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$58 2.2%

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3% 73.8% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,940 in Austin, TX and $612 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $43.00 in San Fernando for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $406 vs $266 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

06:25 6:25 AM

1 h behind Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

11,867

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX San Fernando 1,560 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
San Fernando

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 San Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Fernando wins on cost – living expenses run 139% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San Fernando the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,046 in Austin, TX and $1,695 in San Fernando to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,940 in Austin, TX versus $612 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,511 in Austin, TX versus $220 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Fernando – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,130 in San Fernando versus $2,698 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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.

Expats usually find San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.