City comparison
Austin, TX is about 650 miles (1,000 km) from Pensacola, FL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 800 miles, or about 13 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 Pensacola, FL takes about 1 h 16 min, covering roughly 650 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 54,059 in Pensacola — about 17.7× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 23 sq mi for Pensacola.
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 | Pensacola | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,150/mo | 34.7% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $248,100 | 86.0% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $67,722 | 27.8% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 96.5 | 2.4% higher in Pensacola |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 89.0 | 7.0% higher in Pensacola |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 99.0 | 2.5% higher in Pensacola |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 98.5 | 2.5% higher in Pensacola |
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 $92,538 in Pensacola to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Pensacola, FL is about 7.5% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 23% higher in Austin than in Pensacola. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $74,031 in Pensacola to keep the same standard of living.