Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and San Pedro de Atacama

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama: $1,088 a month against $2,704 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Atacama
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San Pedro de Atacama Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,704

/mo nomad

San Pedro de Atacama

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,088

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in San Pedro de Atacama

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 Pedro de Atacama actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,704 in Austin, TX versus $1,088 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Austin, TX $2,704
San Pedro de Atacama $1,088

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,654 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Austin, TX $4,133
San Pedro de Atacama $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,562 in Austin, TX versus $2,220 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Austin, TX $5,562
San Pedro de Atacama $2,220

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 149% more expensive than in San Pedro de Atacama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 102% above, San Pedro de Atacama is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.22 $20.22

$7.18 CLP 6,998

181.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.0 $85.0

$44.01 CLP 42.9K

93.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.35 $12.35

$7.79 CLP 7,597

58.54%

Cappuccino

$5.47 $5.47

$2.83 CLP 2,756

93.29%

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

$3.82 $3.82

$1.57 CLP 1,528

143.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$1.17 CLP 1,140

113.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 $8.06

$3.57 CLP 3,483

125.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 $8.99

$3.84 CLP 3,747

134.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.19 CLP 1,162

-5.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 $3.78

$1.51 CLP 1,470

150.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.63 CLP 1,589

99.39%

Eggs

$4.14 $4.14

$3.69 CLP 3,603

12.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 $13.08

$10.05 CLP 9,796

30.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.31 $14.31

$6.58 CLP 6,417

117.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.96 $15.96

$11.43 CLP 11.1K

39.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$1.96 CLP 1,915

123.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.58 CLP 1,540

-8.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$1.77 CLP 1,728

156.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$1.72 CLP 1,682

143.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.65 CLP 1,612

59.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.48 CLP 1,441

59.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.34 CLP 1,306

31.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.23 CLP 1,196

75.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.81 $9.81

$5.35 CLP 5,218

83.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.72 $14.72

$5.17 CLP 5,043

184.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

$1.62 CLP 1,584

71.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$2.21 CLP 2,151

57.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.58 CLP 561

156.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.51 $40.51

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$0.71 CLP 689

276.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 $1.58

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.29 $35.29

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.42 CLP 1,386

-30.28%

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

$35.8K $35.8K

$17.9K CLP 17.4M

100.26%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$19.6K CLP 19.2M

38.32%

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

$219 $219

$134 CLP 130.7K

63.52%

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

$58.0 $58.0

$13.34 CLP 13.0K

334.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.4 $68.4

$21.93 CLP 21.4K

211.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 $57.9

$37.95 CLP 37.0K

52.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.82 $14.82

$22.81 CLP 22.2K

-35.03%

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$5.25 CLP 5,122

169.14%

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

$1,509 $1,509

$385 CLP 375.7K

291.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$8,507 CLP 8.3M

152.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 $51.7

$46.52 CLP 45.4K

11.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.05 $44.05

$25.15 CLP 24.5K

75.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 $85.1

$61.2 CLP 59.6K

39.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$81.3 CLP 79.2K

29.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,932 $1,932

$482 CLP 469.6K

301.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 $1,272

$376 CLP 366.6K

238.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,670 $3,670

$876 CLP 854.3K

318.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 $2,525

$597 CLP 581.9K

323.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,617 $7,617

$2,318 CLP 2.3M

228.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,199 $3,199

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,105 $5,105

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

5.01

35.53%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 5, 2026

Last update for San Pedro de Atacama: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.2%

San Pedro de Atacama

$376 35% 70.4% $896

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$403 15.3%

San Pedro de Atacama

$232 21.5% 42.5% $171

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$348 13.2%

San Pedro de Atacama

$151 14.1% 56.6% $197

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$346 13.1%

San Pedro de Atacama

$169 15.7% 51% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.9%

San Pedro de Atacama

$96 9% 25.2% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.3%

San Pedro de Atacama

$48 4.5% 43.8% $38

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$57 2.2%

San Pedro de Atacama

$3 * 0.3% 94.7% $54

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 $1,932 in Austin, TX and $482 in San Pedro de Atacama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $44.00 in San Pedro de Atacama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $232 per month, with San Pedro de Atacama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇨🇱 San Pedro de Atacama

🕒 Local time

04:50 4:50 AM

06:50 6:50 AM

2 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

5,347

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.26 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 975 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 1,088 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.19 EUR).

CLP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Austin, TX San Pedro de Atacama 6,700 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
San Pedro de Atacama

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 Pedro de Atacama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Pedro de Atacama wins on cost – living expenses run 149% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San Pedro de Atacama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,055 in Austin, TX and $1,631 in San Pedro de Atacama 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: $1,932 in Austin, TX versus $482 in San Pedro de Atacama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,509 in Austin, TX versus $385 in San Pedro de Atacama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,088 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $2,704 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Pedro de Atacama but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro de Atacama 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 San Pedro de Atacama 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 San Pedro de Atacama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 149% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.