Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Sandnes

For one person, living costs are similar in Austin, TX and in Sandnes: $2,663 and $2,639 a month, rent and utilities included.

130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Sandnes
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Sandnes Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Sandnes

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,663 in Austin, TX versus $2,639 in Sandnes.

Austin, TX $2,663
Sandnes $2,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $4,091 in Sandnes.

Austin, TX $4,133
Sandnes $4,091

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,603 in Austin, TX versus $5,543 in Sandnes.

Austin, TX $5,603
Sandnes $5,543

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 1% more expensive than in Sandnes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Austin, TX 97% above, Sandnes 95% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 $20.77

$25.33 NOK 238

-18.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$94.9 NOK 893

-10.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 $12.32

$15.41 NOK 145

-20.05%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$5.58 NOK 52.6

0.90%

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

$3.72 $3.72

$3.37 NOK 31.70

10.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$2.95 NOK 27.75

-15.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$13.54 NOK 128

-40.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 $9.01

$11.92 NOK 112

-24.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$2.33 NOK 21.91

-51.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$3.34 NOK 31.43

12.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$2.47 NOK 23.23

31.98%

Eggs

$4.17 $4.17

$4.92 NOK 46.31

-15.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 $12.90

$13.26 NOK 125

-2.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$15.84 NOK 149

-10.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.22 $16.22

$31.72 NOK 299

-48.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$3.45 NOK 32.44

25.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.82 NOK 26.52

-48.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$3.09 NOK 29.12

45.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$4.72 NOK 44.41

-8.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$2.54 NOK 23.89

1.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$2.36 NOK 22.17

-0.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$2.82 NOK 26.54

-36.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$2.25 NOK 21.17

-1.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 $9.88

$16.35 NOK 154

-39.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.08 $15.08

$16.37 NOK 154

-7.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$3.23 NOK 30.37

-9.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$4.13 NOK 38.89

-16.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$4.65 NOK 43.81

-67.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

$82.1 NOK 773

-49.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$6.00 NOK 56.5

-54.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.68 NOK 15.82

-1.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.30 $35.30

$47.92 NOK 451

-26.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$2.21 NOK 20.81

-57.01%

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

$36.0K $36.0K

$43.3K NOK 407.2K

-16.67%

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

$27.1K $27.1K

$38.6K NOK 363.0K

-29.79%

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

$229 $229

$245 NOK 2,309

-6.66%

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

$59.4 $59.4

$34.40 NOK 324

72.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.9 $69.9

$83.6 NOK 787

-16.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

$45.45 NOK 428

25.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

$52.2 NOK 491

-68.69%

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 $14.28

$18.81 NOK 177

-24.08%

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

$1,506 $1,506

$284 NOK 2,675

430.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$9,372 NOK 88.2K

128.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$123 NOK 1,159

-57.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 $43.82

$59.5 NOK 560

-26.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 $84.8

$119 NOK 1,121

-28.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$186 NOK 1,751

-44.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 $1,907

$1,304 NOK 12.3K

46.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

$947 NOK 8,916

34.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

$1,964 NOK 18.5K

86.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,538 $2,538

$1,754 NOK 16.5K

44.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,614 $7,614

$6,896 NOK 64.9K

10.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,157 $3,157

$4,065 NOK 38.3K

-22.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

$3,612 NOK 34.0K

41.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

5.22

30.08%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sandnes: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8%

Sandnes

$947 35.9% 25.7% $327

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$405 15.2%

Sandnes

$478 18.1% 18.2% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$358 13.5%

Sandnes

$363 13.8% 1.4% $5

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$354 13.3%

Sandnes

$433 16.4% 22.3% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.8%

Sandnes

$220 8.3% 71.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

Sandnes

$83 3.2% 3.2% $2.7

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$59 2.2%

Sandnes

$115 4.4% 96.1% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,907 in Austin, TX and $1,304 in Sandnes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 42% 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 $95.0 in Sandnes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $405 vs $478 per month, with Austin, TX cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇳🇴 Sandnes

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

21:22 9:22 PM

7 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

83,958

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Sandnes 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Sandnes

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 Sandnes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandnes wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sandnes the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 42% 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 $1,304 in Sandnes. 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 $2,639 in Sandnes – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sandnes runs roughly 97% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Sandnes is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Sandnes 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 Sandnes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.