City comparison
Austin, TX is about 1,800 miles (2,800 km) from Federal Way, WA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,200 miles, or about 37 hours (about 4 days at 10 h/day) 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 Federal Way, WA takes about 3 h 31 min, covering roughly 1,800 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, TX is on Central Time and Federal Way, WA is on Pacific Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Austin, it's 10 a.m. in Federal Way, which puts Austin 2 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Austin has a population of 958,202, vs 99,614 in Federal Way — about 9.6× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 22 sq mi for Federal Way.
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 | Federal Way | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,660/mo | 7.2% higher in Federal Way |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $454,300 | 1.6% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $80,360 | 7.7% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 104.0 | 10.4% higher in Federal Way |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 95.7 | 15.1% higher in Federal Way |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 106.6 | 10.4% higher in Federal Way |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 106.6 | 10.9% higher in Federal Way |
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 $117,388 in Federal Way to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin, TX is about 14.8% cheaper overall than Federal Way, WA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 24% higher in Federal Way than in Austin. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $93,911 in Federal Way to keep the same standard of living.