City comparison
Austin, TX is about 800 miles (1,300 km) from Owensboro, KY 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 Owensboro, KY takes about 1 h 36 min, covering roughly 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 has a population of 958,202, vs 60,019 in Owensboro — about 16.0× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 21 sq mi for Owensboro.
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 | Owensboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $888/mo | 74.4% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $151,800 | 204.0% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $51,982 | 66.5% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 96.5 | 2.4% higher in Owensboro |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 76.9 | 8.1% higher in Austin |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 97.2 | 0.6% higher in Owensboro |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 96.7 | 0.6% higher in Owensboro |
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 $74,427 in Owensboro to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Owensboro, KY is about 25.6% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 111% higher in Austin than in Owensboro. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $59,541 in Owensboro to keep the same standard of living.