Climate
Austin logs 163 hot days a year to Los Angeles's 65 — Los Angeles wins by 98. Los Angeles also leads on sunny days by 75.
Austin
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Los Angeles
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Austin is $700/mo cheaperAustin runs about $3,651/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Los Angeles's $4,351/mo — Austin comes in $700 cheaper each month, roughly 19% less.
Austin
$3,651monthly · balanced
Los Angeles
$4,351monthly · balanced
Mobility
Austin and Los Angeles score neck-and-neck on mobility (2.0 vs 2.0, 0–5 scale).
Culture
Los Angeles's culture score of 4.2 sits well above Austin's 2.7, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Austin and Los Angeles score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (3.8 vs 4.0, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Austin's safety score is ~1.4× Los Angeles's — in the middle of the scale, while Los Angeles lands below average, with the biggest gap on earthquake safety. Los Angeles still holds an edge on flooding safety.
Career
Los Angeles's career score of 4.4 sits well above Austin's 4.1, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
Austin's social & community score of 3.8 sits well above Los Angeles's 3.6, with the biggest gap on street atmosphere. Los Angeles still holds an edge on multicultural mix.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, Los Angeles scores 4.8 vs Austin's 4.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on restaurant variety.
Family
On family, Los Angeles scores 4.0 vs Austin's 3.5 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools. Austin still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
Austin and Los Angeles score neck-and-neck on healthcare (2.8 vs 2.8, 0–5 scale).
Air Quality
Austin averages 8.8 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus Los Angeles's 13.8 µg/m³ (moderate) — Austin breathes ~36% cleaner air (5.0 µg/m³ lower).
Austin
Los Angeles
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Austin (1.6M) and Los Angeles (13.5M) are 8.5x in population — Los Angeles is the larger metro, Austin the smaller; on land area Los Angeles spans roughly 7.2x more ground.
Los Angeles is roughly 7.8x the scale of Austin
Combined population & area comparison
Los AngelesAustinCity Scale Rankings
Los Angeles13.5M8.5xAustin1.6M1xLos Angeles4,498 km²7.2xAustin628 km²1xAustin
Los Angeles
Who Thrives Here
Austin favours the park & garden lover, while Los Angeles suits the sun & sea lover. Both cities work well for the english speaker.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Austin vs Los Angeles
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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