City comparison
Austin, TX is about 850 miles (1,300 km) from Decatur, IL 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 Austin, TX to Decatur, IL takes about 1 h 39 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 70,975 in Decatur — about 13.5× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 44 sq mi for Decatur.
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 | Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $770/mo | 101.2% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $96,800 | 376.8% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $49,039 | 76.5% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 93.9 | ≈ equal (Austin slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 91.2 | 9.6% higher in Decatur |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 99.3 | 2.8% higher in Decatur |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 99.5 | 3.6% higher in Decatur |
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 $75,797 in Decatur to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Decatur, IL is about 24.2% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 113% higher in Austin than in Decatur. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $60,638 in Decatur to keep the same standard of living.