# Austin vs Los Angeles

> On balanced weights, Los Angeles comes out ahead: 64 against 53 out of 100, mostly on nice days and dry days. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/austin-us-vs-los-angeles-us/

Scores out of 100: Austin 53, Los Angeles 64. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=austin-us,los-angeles-us

## Line by line

| Line | Austin | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | at most €820 a month; money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) | at most €364 a month; money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 48 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 171 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 10 h 11 min | 9 h 53 min |
| Sunshine | 2,435 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | no data |
| Dry days | 115 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 37 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 9.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 10.5 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €110 a month (World Development Indicators) | €110 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | no data | no data |
| Research output | 47 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 44 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 11 km (OurAirports airports) | 19 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 4 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 8 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Rail and metro stations | 7 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 51 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 24 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 32 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Cycle network | 1.17 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.30 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 76 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 68 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 5.0 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 5.1 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Quick way out by bike | 4.5 km, about 18 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 7.8 km, about 31 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 200 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 22 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 22 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 19.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 6.2 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 93 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 59 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 20.6 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 35.8 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Doctors | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 69.0 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 48.7 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Developers around | 44.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 14.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | no data |
| Abortion law | not allowed, or only to save her life; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 12 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 6 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 4 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 3 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 16 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 20 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 28 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 89 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 176 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 345 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 161 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 99 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 54 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 154 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 148 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 62 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Austin or Los Angeles?

For one person renting a one-bedroom home, Austin is cheaper: about €3,356 a month against €3,586, rent and everyday spending included. Rent comes from official rent statistics and everyday spending is scaled by each country's World Bank price level.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Austin and in Los Angeles?

About US$56,055 a year in Austin (United States 2026 tax rules) and US$53,037 in Los Angeles (United States 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Austin or Los Angeles?

Austin is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 26.9 °C against 24.8 °C in Los Angeles (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Austin or Los Angeles?

Austin has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 9.4 µg/m³ against 10.5 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2021 and 2022).

## Cite

Borgo, "Austin vs Los Angeles", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/austin-us-vs-los-angeles-us/, figures as of 2026-11-05.