Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Longyearbyen and Austin, TX

For one person, living costs are similar in Longyearbyen and in Austin, TX: $2,733 and $2,663 a month, rent and utilities included.

134

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index
130

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

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Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,733

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Longyearbyen and in Austin, TX actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,733 in Longyearbyen versus $2,663 in Austin, TX.

Longyearbyen $2,733
Austin, TX $2,663

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,180 in Longyearbyen versus $4,133 in Austin, TX.

Longyearbyen $4,180
Austin, TX $4,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,627 in Longyearbyen versus $5,603 in Austin, TX.

Longyearbyen $5,627
Austin, TX $5,603

Living in Longyearbyen is roughly 3% more expensive than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Longyearbyen 102% above, Austin, TX 97% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 NOK 189

$20.77 $20.77

-3.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 996

$84.6 $84.6

25.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.00 NOK 169

$12.32 $12.32

46.10%

Cappuccino

$6.85 NOK 64.5

$5.63 $5.63

21.67%

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

$6.11 NOK 57.5

$3.72 $3.72

64.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.58 NOK 52.5

$2.50 $2.50

123.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.43 NOK 70.0

$8.05 $8.05

-7.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.96 NOK 84.3

$9.01 $9.01

-0.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.40 NOK 22.57

$1.12 $1.12

114.29%

White Bread (500g)

$3.71 NOK 34.95

$3.75 $3.75

-1.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.33 NOK 40.78

$3.26 $3.26

32.82%

Eggs

$4.97 NOK 46.82

$4.17 $4.17

19.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 NOK 134

$12.90 $12.90

10.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.30 NOK 191

$14.16 $14.16

43.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.52 NOK 297

$16.22 $16.22

94.33%

Apples (1kg)

$6.42 NOK 60.5

$4.33 $4.33

48.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 NOK 24.03

$1.46 $1.46

74.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.85 NOK 64.5

$4.51 $4.51

51.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.66 NOK 62.7

$4.34 $4.34

53.46%

Potato (1kg)

$5.49 NOK 51.7

$2.58 $2.58

112.79%

Onion (1kg)

$4.53 NOK 42.66

$2.35 $2.35

92.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.51 NOK 42.50

$1.78 $1.78

153.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 NOK 33.23

$2.22 $2.22

59.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.34 NOK 163

$9.88 $9.88

75.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.45 NOK 136

$15.08 $15.08

-4.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 NOK 33.31

$2.92 $2.92

21.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 NOK 39.93

$3.46 $3.46

22.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.27 NOK 49.65

$1.49 $1.49

253.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 NOK 811

$41.72 $41.72

106.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 NOK 85.3

$2.73 $2.73

231.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 NOK 16.93

$1.66 $1.66

8.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$73.7 NOK 694

$35.30 $35.30

108.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 NOK 20.05

$0.95 $0.95

124.21%

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

$50.3K NOK 473.1K

$36.0K $36.0K

39.42%

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

$41.3K NOK 388.9K

$27.1K $27.1K

52.61%

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

$242 NOK 2,274

$229 $229

5.48%

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

$32.99 NOK 311

$59.4 $59.4

-44.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.1 NOK 509

$69.9 $69.9

-22.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.5 NOK 475

$57.2 $57.2

-11.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.19 NOK 341

$16.33 $16.33

121.62%

Cinema Ticket

$14.85 NOK 140

$14.28 $14.28

3.99%

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

$200 NOK 1,887

$1,506 $1,506

-86.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K NOK 133.8K

$21.5K $21.5K

-33.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 NOK 981

$52.8 $52.8

97.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 NOK 530

$43.82 $43.82

28.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 NOK 1,179

$84.8 $84.8

47.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NOK 1,447

$103 $103

49.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 NOK 10.4K

$1,907 $1,907

-42.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,017 NOK 9,569

$1,274 $1,274

-20.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 NOK 18.7K

$3,664 $3,664

-45.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,698 NOK 16.0K

$2,538 $2,538

-33.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,197 NOK 58.3K

$7,614 $7,614

-18.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,017 NOK 37.8K

$3,157 $3,157

27.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,931 NOK 27.6K

$5,121 $5,121

-42.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

6.79

-27.25%

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

Last update for Longyearbyen: October 13, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Longyearbyen

$1K 37.2%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8% 25.3% $258

Groceries & Markets

Longyearbyen

$586 21.5%

Austin, TX

$405 15.2% 31% $182

Eating Out

Longyearbyen

$398 14.6%

Austin, TX

$354 13.3% 11.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Longyearbyen

$329 12%

Austin, TX

$358 13.5% 9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2%

Austin, TX

$128 4.8% 35.3% $70

Getting Around

Longyearbyen

$125 4.6%

Austin, TX

$59 2.2% 53.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Longyearbyen

$80 2.9%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 7% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,104 in Longyearbyen and $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 75% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $106 in Longyearbyen vs $85.0 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $586 vs $405 per month, with Austin, TX cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

22:01 10:01 PM

15:01 3:01 PM

7 h behind Longyearbyen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,400

974,447

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

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Between locations

Longyearbyen Austin, TX 7,220 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Longyearbyen
Austin, TX

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

Longyearbyen vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Austin, TX wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Longyearbyen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Austin, TX the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Austin, TX. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,104 in Longyearbyen versus $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,733 per month in Longyearbyen versus $2,663 in Austin, TX – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Austin, TX runs roughly 107% less than in Longyearbyen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Austin, TX 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, Longyearbyen and Austin, TX 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 Austin, TX gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Longyearbyen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.