City comparison
Austin, TX is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Mount Prospect, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,200 miles, or about 20 hours (about 2 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 Mount Prospect, IL takes about 1 h 57 min, covering roughly 1,000 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 56,191 in Mount Prospect — about 17.1× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 11 sq mi for Mount Prospect.
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 | Mount Prospect | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,368/mo | 13.2% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $367,900 | 25.4% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $100,526 | 16.1% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 106.3 | 12.8% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 84.3 | 1.4% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 100.2 | 3.7% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 100.4 | 4.4% higher in Mount Prospect |
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 $99,591 in Mount Prospect to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin and Mount Prospect have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 8% higher in Austin than in Mount Prospect. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $79,673 in Mount Prospect to keep the same standard of living.