City comparison
Alpharetta, GA is about 850 miles (1,300 km) from Austin, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,000 miles, or about 17 hours behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Alpharetta, GA to Austin, TX takes about 1 h 40 min, covering roughly 850 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Austin has a population of 958,202, vs 65,884 in Alpharetta — about 14.5× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 27 sq mi for Alpharetta.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Alpharetta | Austin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,767/mo | $1,549/mo | 14.1% higher in Alpharetta |
| Median home value | $562,000 | $461,500 | 21.8% higher in Alpharetta |
| Median household income | $141,402 | $86,556 | 63.4% higher in Alpharetta |
| Groceries index | 100.3 | 94.2 | 6.4% higher in Alpharetta |
| Utilities index | 96.1 | 83.2 | 15.5% higher in Alpharetta |
| Transportation index | 97.0 | 96.6 | ≈ equal (Alpharetta slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 96.5 | 96.1 | ≈ equal (Alpharetta slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Alpharetta, you'd need $100,603 in Austin to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Alpharetta, GA is about 0.6% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in Austin than in Alpharetta. If you earn $80,000 in Alpharetta, you'd need about $80,483 in Austin to keep the same standard of living.