City comparison
Austin, TX is about 175 miles (275 km) from Baytown, 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 Austin, TX to Baytown, 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 84,449 in Baytown — about 11.3× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 41 sq mi for Baytown.
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 | Austin | Baytown | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,207/mo | 28.3% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $162,200 | 184.5% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $61,158 | 41.5% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 100.5 | 6.6% higher in Baytown |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 95.2 | 14.5% higher in Baytown |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 96.0 | 0.6% higher in Austin |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 95.5 | 0.6% higher in Austin |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Austin, you'd need $95,060 in Baytown to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Baytown, TX is about 4.9% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 16% higher in Austin than in Baytown. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $76,048 in Baytown to keep the same standard of living.