Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Van

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $2,607 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $19,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Van
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Van Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,607

/mo nomad

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,607 in Austin, TX versus $956 in Van.

Austin, TX $2,607
Van $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,031 in Austin, TX versus $1,536 in Van.

Austin, TX $4,031
Van $1,536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,454 in Austin, TX versus $2,116 in Van.

Austin, TX $5,454
Van $2,116

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 173% more expensive than in Van, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 92% above, Van is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.35 $20.35

$7.48 ₺373

172.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.7 $84.7

$34.59 ₺1,723

144.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.12 $12.12

$7.93 ₺395

52.84%

Cappuccino

$5.65 $5.65

$3.57 ₺178

58.26%

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

$3.68 $3.68

$1.14 ₺56.6

222.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$0.42 ₺21.17

461.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.87 $7.87

$3.33 ₺166

136.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.82 $8.82

$3.10 ₺154

184.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$0.96 ₺47.67

18.75%

White Bread (500g)

$3.69 $3.69

$1.00 ₺49.80

269.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.31 $3.31

$2.25 ₺112

47.11%

Eggs

$4.15 $4.15

$1.48 ₺73.9

180.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.98 $12.98

$8.99 ₺448

44.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.86 $13.86

$4.07 ₺203

240.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.34 $16.34

$22.62 ₺1,127

-27.76%

Apples (1kg)

$4.69 $4.69

$1.82 ₺90.9

157.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.83 ₺91.1

-20.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.11 $5.11

$1.09 ₺54.3

368.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 $4.52

$1.15 ₺57.4

293.04%

Potato (1kg)

$3.08 $3.08

$0.52 ₺25.73

492.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 $2.38

$0.35 ₺17.44

580.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.80 $1.80

$0.74 ₺36.87

143.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$0.61 ₺30.53

263.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.97 $9.97

$2.16 ₺108

361.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.05 $15.05

$10.36 ₺516

45.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 $2.91

$2.01 ₺99.9

44.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 $3.33

$2.79 ₺139

19.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 $1.22

$0.73 ₺36.59

67.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.53 $40.53

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.78 $2.78

$1.30 ₺64.6

113.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.76 ₺37.85

117.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.39 $35.39

$7.21 ₺359

390.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.28 ₺64.0

-25.78%

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

$34.2K $34.2K

$42.2K ₺2.1M

-19.04%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-31.21%

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

$223 $223

$79.9 ₺3,981

179.10%

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

$58.5 $58.5

$10.46 ₺521

459.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.2 $71.2

$13.39 ₺667

431.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.0 $53.0

$57.0 ₺2,841

-6.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.75 $16.75

Cinema Ticket

$14.06 $14.06

$6.49 ₺324

116.64%

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

$1,459 $1,459

$624 ₺31.1K

133.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.3K $21.3K

$11.4K ₺566.1K

87.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 $52.5

$45.86 ₺2,285

14.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.75 $42.75

$33.35 ₺1,661

28.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.4 $86.4

$79.7 ₺3,969

8.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$88.8 ₺4,425

16.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,112 $2,112

$469 ₺23.4K

350.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,230 $1,230

$278 ₺13.9K

341.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,863 $3,863

$816 ₺40.6K

373.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,407 $2,407

$586 ₺29.2K

310.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,426 $7,426

$1,491 ₺74.3K

398.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,060 $3,060

$968 ₺48.2K

216.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,179 $5,179

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

41.33

-83.50%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 26, 2026

Last update for Van: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.2K 47.2%

Van

$278 29.1% 77.4% $952

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$410 15.7%

Van

$229 23.9% 44.2% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$353 13.5%

Van

$104 10.9% 70.6% $249

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$348 13.4%

Van

$156 16.3% 55.3% $193

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.9%

Van

$111 11.7% 13.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$81 3.1%

Van

$70 7.3% 13.7% $11

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$56 2.2%

Van

$8 * 0.8% 85.8% $48

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 $2,112 in Austin, TX and $469 in Van. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85 in Austin, TX vs $35 in Van for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $410 vs $229 per month, with Van cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇹🇷 Van

🕒 Local time

09:40 9:40 AM

17:40 5:40 PM

8 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

1,141,015

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

TRY to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Van 11,370 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Van

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 Van: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Van wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Van the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $3,911 in Austin, TX and $1,434 in Van 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: $2,112 in Austin, TX versus $469 in Van. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,459 in Austin, TX versus $624 in Van. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Van – a meal for two runs $35 versus $85 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

For families, Van is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Austin, TX, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.