Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and St.James

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $921 a month against $2,663 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $20,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
Learn more

Austin, TX Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in St.James
Learn more

St.James Living Index

Jump to prices

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$921

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in St.James

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,663 in Austin, TX versus $921 in St.James.

Austin, TX $2,663
St.James $921

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,596 in St.James.

Austin, TX $4,133
St.James $1,596

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,603 in Austin, TX versus $2,270 in St.James.

Austin, TX $5,603
St.James $2,270

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 189% more expensive than in St.James, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 97% above, St.James is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 $20.77

$10.17 TTD 68.4

104.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$86.9 TTD 585

-2.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 $12.32

$8.91 TTD 60.0

38.27%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$3.75 TTD 25.23

50.13%

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

$3.72 $3.72

$0.99 TTD 6.66

275.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.77 TTD 5.18

224.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$2.27 TTD 15.30

254.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 $9.01

$3.64 TTD 24.50

147.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$2.49 TTD 16.76

-55.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$2.53 TTD 17.04

48.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$2.93 TTD 19.68

11.26%

Eggs

$4.17 $4.17

$4.31 TTD 29.00

-3.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 $12.90

$6.62 TTD 44.56

94.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$10.12 TTD 68.1

39.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.22 $16.22

$11.49 TTD 77.3

41.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$5.57 TTD 37.50

-22.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.98 TTD 20.02

-51.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$3.71 TTD 24.94

21.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$4.17 TTD 28.05

4.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$2.11 TTD 14.22

22.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.86 TTD 12.49

26.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.89 TTD 12.68

-5.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.35 TTD 9.05

64.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 $9.88

$5.83 TTD 39.19

69.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.08 $15.08

$19.53 TTD 131

-22.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$2.33 TTD 15.64

25.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$3.05 TTD 20.51

13.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$1.05 TTD 7.06

160.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.23 TTD 8.27

34.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.30 $35.30

$14.78 TTD 99.5

138.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.12 TTD 7.56

-15.18%

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

$36.0K $36.0K

$36.5K TTD 245.8K

-1.35%

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

$27.1K $27.1K

$41.8K TTD 281.1K

-35.21%

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

$229 $229

$90.1 TTD 606

154.04%

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

$59.4 $59.4

$52.6 TTD 354

12.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.9 $69.9

$56.5 TTD 380

23.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 $14.28

$9.09 TTD 61.2

57.10%

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

$1,506 $1,506

$398 TTD 2,676

278.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$10.8K TTD 72.9K

98.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$55.7 TTD 375

-5.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 $43.82

$52.7 TTD 354

-16.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 $84.8

$148 TTD 997

-42.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$103 TTD 692

0.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 $1,907

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,538 $2,538

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,614 $7,614

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,157 $3,157

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

5.75

18.09%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for St.James: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8%

St.James

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$405 15.2%

St.James

$356 38.7% 12% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$358 13.5%

St.James

$199 21.6% 44.4% $159

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$354 13.3%

St.James

$179 19.4% 49.5% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.8%

St.James

$162 17.6% 26.4% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

St.James

$18 * 2% 78.8% $68

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$59 2.2%

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8% 87.7% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $87.0 in St.James. Groceries flip the comparison at $405 vs $356, with St.James cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇹🇹 St.James

🕒 Local time

09:00 9:00 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

1 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

4,342

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

TTD to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX St.James 4,330 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
St.James

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 St.James: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St.James wins on cost – living expenses run 189% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making St.James the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,995 in Austin, TX and $1,382 in St.James 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.

Childcare runs $1,506 in Austin, TX versus $398 in St.James. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in St.James – a meal for two runs $87.0 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $921 in St.James versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in St.James but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes St.James 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 St.James gentler on the wallet – expenses run 189% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.