City comparison
Arlington, TX is about 175 miles (275 km) from Austin, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 225 miles, or about 3 h 30 min 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 Arlington, TX to Austin, TX takes about 20 min, covering roughly 175 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 393,469 in Arlington — about 2.4× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 96 sq mi for Arlington.
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 | Arlington | Austin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,297/mo | $1,549/mo | 19.4% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $251,300 | $461,500 | 83.6% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $71,736 | $86,556 | 20.7% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 101.7 | 94.2 | 8.0% higher in Arlington |
| Utilities index | 89.3 | 83.2 | 7.3% higher in Arlington |
| Transportation index | 98.5 | 96.6 | 2.0% higher in Arlington |
| Healthcare index | 99.7 | 96.1 | 3.7% higher in Arlington |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Arlington, you'd need $99,179 in Austin to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin, TX is about 0.8% cheaper overall than Arlington, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 3% higher in Austin than in Arlington. If you earn $80,000 in Arlington, you'd need about $79,343 in Austin to keep the same standard of living.