Climate
Austin logs 163 hot days a year to New York City's 22 — New York City wins by 141. Austin also leads on frost days by 46.
Austin
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
New York City
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Austin is $1764/mo cheaperAustin runs about $3,651/mo for a balanced lifestyle against New York City's $5,415/mo — Austin comes in $1,764 cheaper each month, roughly 48% less.
Austin
$3,651monthly · balanced
New York City
$5,415monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, New York City scores 3.6 vs Austin's 2.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on walkability. Austin still holds an edge on airport accessibility.
Culture
New York City's culture score of 4.8 sits well above Austin's 2.7, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Austin and New York City score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (3.8 vs 4.0, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Austin's safety score of 2.6 sits well above New York City's 2.2, with the biggest gap on property crime safety. New York City still holds an edge on wildfire safety.
Career
New York City's career score of 5.0 sits well above Austin's 4.1, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
New York City's social & community score of 4.3 sits well above Austin's 3.8, with the biggest gap on expat-first community. Austin still holds an edge on local-first community.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, New York City scores 5.0 vs Austin's 4.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on restaurant variety.
Family
On family, New York City scores 4.3 vs Austin's 3.5 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools.
Healthcare
On healthcare, New York City scores 3.5 vs Austin's 2.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Austin averages 8.8 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus New York City's 8.6 µg/m³ (good) — New York City breathes ~2% cleaner air (0.2 µg/m³ lower).
Austin
New York City
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 New York City (14.2M) are 9.0x in population — New York City is the larger metro, Austin the smaller; on land area New York City spans roughly 4.8x more ground.
New York City is roughly 6.6x the scale of Austin
Combined population & area comparison
New York CityAustinCity Scale Rankings
New York City14.2M9.0xAustin1.6M1xNew York City3,031 km²4.8xAustin628 km²1xAustin
New York City
Who Thrives Here
Austin favours the crowd avoider, while New York City suits the arts & intellectual. Both cities work well for the english speaker.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Austin vs New York City
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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