Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Clara and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $952 a month against $2,663 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index
130

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

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Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$952

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara and in Austin, TX actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $952 in Santa Clara versus $2,663 in Austin, TX.

Santa Clara $952
Austin, TX $2,663

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,432 in Santa Clara versus $4,133 in Austin, TX.

Santa Clara $1,432
Austin, TX $4,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,912 in Santa Clara versus $5,603 in Austin, TX.

Santa Clara $1,912
Austin, TX $5,603

Living in Santa Clara costs roughly 64% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Clara is 29% below, Austin, TX is 97% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.67 CUP 88.0

$20.77 $20.77

-82.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.41 CUP 658

$84.6 $84.6

-67.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 CUP 118

$12.32 $12.32

-60.23%

Cappuccino

$1.05 CUP 25.15

$5.63 $5.63

-81.35%

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

$1.53 CUP 36.75

$3.72 $3.72

-58.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 CUP 21.99

$2.50 $2.50

-63.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 CUP 29.56

$8.05 $8.05

-84.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.31

$9.01 $9.01

-77.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.82 CUP 67.7

$1.12 $1.12

151.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 CUP 27.94

$3.75 $3.75

-69.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 CUP 41.16

$3.26 $3.26

-47.24%

Eggs

$3.48 CUP 83.5

$4.17 $4.17

-16.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.55 CUP 109

$12.90 $12.90

-64.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.74 CUP 114

$14.16 $14.16

-66.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.66 CUP 208

$16.22 $16.22

-46.61%

Apples (1kg)

$6.11 CUP 147

$4.33 $4.33

41.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 CUP 25.38

$1.46 $1.46

-27.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.00 CUP 96.0

$4.51 $4.51

-11.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 CUP 54.7

$4.34 $4.34

-47.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.90 CUP 69.7

$2.58 $2.58

12.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.76 CUP 66.2

$2.35 $2.35

17.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 CUP 16.06

$1.78 $1.78

-62.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 CUP 12.80

$2.22 $2.22

-76.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 CUP 40.57

$9.88 $9.88

-82.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.24 CUP 126

$15.08 $15.08

-65.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 CUP 40.90

$2.92 $2.92

-41.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.14

$3.46 $3.46

-40.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 CUP 60.9

$2.73 $2.73

-6.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 CUP 8.08

$1.66 $1.66

-79.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.04 CUP 481

$35.30 $35.30

-43.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 CUP 30.61

$0.95 $0.95

34.74%

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

$59.0K CUP 1.4M

$36.0K $36.0K

63.74%

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

$61.2K CUP 1.5M

$27.1K $27.1K

126.00%

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

$47.01 CUP 1,128

$229 $229

-79.47%

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

$38.40 CUP 922

$59.4 $59.4

-35.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$90.5 CUP 2,172

$69.9 $69.9

29.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

Cinema Ticket

$0.84 CUP 20.05

$14.28 $14.28

-94.12%

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

$157 CUP 3,757

$1,506 $1,506

-89.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K CUP 296.1K

$21.5K $21.5K

-42.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.3 CUP 1,231

$52.8 $52.8

-2.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.95 CUP 1,007

$43.82 $43.82

-4.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.0 CUP 1,945

$84.8 $84.8

-4.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.4 CUP 1,595

$103 $103

-35.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$344 CUP 8,260

$1,907 $1,907

-81.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 CUP 8,413

$1,274 $1,274

-72.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$739 CUP 17.7K

$3,664 $3,664

-79.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$598 CUP 14.4K

$2,538 $2,538

-76.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$277 CUP 6,646

$7,614 $7,614

-96.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$293 CUP 7,037

$3,157 $3,157

-90.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

6.79

34.02%

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

Last update for Santa Clara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Clara

$351 36.8%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8% 264% $924

Groceries & Markets

Santa Clara

$235 24.7%

Austin, TX

$405 15.2% 72.4% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Clara

$176 18.5%

Austin, TX

$358 13.5% 104% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Clara

$108 11.4%

Austin, TX

$128 4.8% 18.1% $20

Eating Out

Santa Clara

$77 8.1%

Austin, TX

$354 13.3% 362% $277

Getting Around

Santa Clara

$4.2 * 0.4%

Austin, TX

$59 2.2% 1291% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Clara

$1.7 * 0.2%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 5037% $84

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 $344 in Santa Clara and $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27.00 in Santa Clara vs $85.0 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $405 per month, with Santa Clara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

15:58 3:58 PM

1 h behind Santa Clara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

216,056

974,447

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Clara Austin, TX 1,970 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Clara
Austin, TX

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Santa Clara wins on cost – living expenses run 180% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Santa Clara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,428 in Santa Clara and $3,995 in Austin, TX 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: $344 in Santa Clara versus $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $157 in Santa Clara versus $1,506 in Austin, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Clara – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $952 in Santa Clara versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santa Clara but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 180% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.