City comparison
Austin, TX is about 175 miles (275 km) from Fort Worth, 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 Fort Worth, TX takes about 21 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 924,663 in Fort Worth — about the same size. By land area, Fort Worth covers about 350 sq mi vs 325 sq mi for Austin.
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 | Fort Worth | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,313/mo | 18.0% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $250,300 | 84.4% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $72,726 | 19.0% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 101.7 | 8.0% higher in Fort Worth |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 89.3 | 7.3% higher in Fort Worth |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 98.5 | 2.0% higher in Fort Worth |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 99.7 | 3.7% higher in Fort Worth |
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 $100,876 in Fort Worth to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin, TX is about 0.9% cheaper overall than Fort Worth, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 3% higher in Austin than in Fort Worth. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $80,700 in Fort Worth to keep the same standard of living.