City comparison
Austin, TX is about 200 miles (325 km) from Plano, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 250 miles, or about 4 h 15 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 Plano, TX takes about 24 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 284,948 in Plano — about 3.4× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 72 sq mi for Plano.
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 | Plano | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,699/mo | 9.7% higher in Plano |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $412,500 | 11.9% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $105,679 | 22.1% higher in Plano |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 102.5 | 8.8% higher in Plano |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 91.1 | 9.5% higher in Plano |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 99.8 | 3.2% higher in Plano |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 99.2 | 3.2% higher in Plano |
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 $102,456 in Plano to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Austin, TX is about 2.4% cheaper overall than Plano, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $81,964 in Plano to keep the same standard of living.