City comparison
Austin, TX is about 200 miles (350 km) from McKinney, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 275 miles, or about 4 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 McKinney, TX takes about 25 min, covering roughly 200 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 196,160 in McKinney — about 4.9× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 68 sq mi for McKinney.
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 | McKinney | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,740/mo | 12.3% higher in McKinney |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $400,400 | 15.3% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $113,286 | 30.9% higher in McKinney |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 102.5 | 8.8% higher in McKinney |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 91.1 | 9.5% higher in McKinney |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 99.8 | 3.2% higher in McKinney |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 99.2 | 3.2% higher in McKinney |
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 $102,579 in McKinney to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin, TX is about 2.5% cheaper overall than McKinney, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $82,063 in McKinney to keep the same standard of living.