Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,040 a month against $2,704 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
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Sanaa Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,704

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,040

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,704 in Austin, TX versus $1,040 in Sanaa.

Austin, TX $2,704
Sanaa $1,040

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,608 in Sanaa.

Austin, TX $4,133
Sanaa $1,608

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,562 in Austin, TX versus $2,175 in Sanaa.

Austin, TX $5,562
Sanaa $2,175

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 160% more expensive than in Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 102% above, Sanaa is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.22 $20.22

$6.46 YER 1,524

213.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.0 $85.0

$25.31 YER 5,969

235.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.35 $12.35

$9.75 YER 2,300

26.67%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 YER 462

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 YER 611

Cappuccino

$5.47 $5.47

$3.82 YER 900

43.19%

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

$3.82 $3.82

$1.17 YER 277

226.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.60 YER 141

316.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 $8.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 $8.99

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.98 YER 468

-42.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 $3.78

$1.64 YER 387

130.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$2.09 YER 492

55.50%

Eggs

$4.14 $4.14

$3.57 YER 842

15.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 $13.08

$17.52 YER 4,131

-25.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.31 $14.31

$8.41 YER 1,984

70.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.96 $15.96

$19.10 YER 4,504

-16.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$3.40 YER 802

28.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.05 YER 249

38.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$2.21 YER 521

105.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$1.67 YER 393

150.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.51 YER 357

74.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.38 YER 326

71.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.20 YER 284

46.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$0.68 YER 160

217.65%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.48 YER 584

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 YER 423

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.81 $9.81

$5.66 YER 1,336

73.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.72 $14.72

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.43 YER 102

246.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.51 $40.51

$86.3 YER 20.4K

-53.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$4.19 YER 988

-36.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 $1.58

$2.10 YER 494

-24.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.29 $35.29

$7.22 YER 1,704

388.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 $0.99

$2.06 YER 486

-51.94%

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

$35.8K $35.8K

$16.9K YER 4.0M

111.92%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$34.6K YER 8.2M

-21.45%

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

$219 $219

$109 YER 25.6K

101.72%

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

$58.0 $58.0

$23.35 YER 5,506

148.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.4 $68.4

$102 YER 24.0K

-32.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 $57.9

$67.1 YER 15.8K

-13.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.82 $14.82

$16.03 YER 3,779

-7.55%

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$5.97 YER 1,407

136.68%

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

$1,509 $1,509

$118 YER 27.7K

1183.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$2,130 YER 502.3K

907.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 $51.7

$42.48 YER 10.0K

21.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.05 $44.05

$121 YER 28.5K

-63.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 $85.1

$47.63 YER 11.2K

78.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$40.69 YER 9,594

158.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,932 $1,932

$222 YER 52.4K

769.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 $1,272

$94.7 YER 22.3K

1243.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,670 $3,670

$408 YER 96.2K

799.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 $2,525

$276 YER 65.0K

816.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,617 $7,617

$4,240 YER 999.9K

79.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,199 $3,199

$825 YER 194.6K

287.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,105 $5,105

$197 YER 46.4K

2495.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

11.25

-39.64%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sanaa: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.2%

Sanaa

$95 9.2% 92.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$403 15.3%

Sanaa

$272 26.4% 32.6% $131

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$348 13.2%

Sanaa

$134 13% 61.5% $214

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$346 13.1%

Sanaa

$234 22.7% 32.4% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.9%

Sanaa

$113 11% 12.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.3%

Sanaa

$79 7.7% 8.3% $7.1

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$57 2.2%

Sanaa

$103 10% 80.2% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,932 in Austin, TX and $222 in Sanaa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 2496% 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 $25.00 in Sanaa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $272 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

02:14 2:14 AM

10:14 10:14 AM

8 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

YER to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Austin, TX Sanaa 13,510 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Sanaa

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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa wins on cost – living expenses run 160% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sanaa the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 2496% 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: $1,932 in Austin, TX versus $222 in Sanaa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,704 per month in Austin, TX versus $1,040 in Sanaa – a 160% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sanaa runs roughly 113% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,040 in Sanaa versus $2,704 in Austin, TX, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sanaa but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Sanaa 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 Sanaa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 160% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.