Traffic Talks

Community questions MoPac Expressway expansion in South Austin

Traffic is a punishing facet of existence in Austin for many residents.

Photo by KVUE

Southbound traffic on the MoPac Expressway has become a daily headache for many Austinites, with worsening congestion turning routine commutes into long, frustrating drives.

For longtime resident Corey Baum, the daily commute has taken a toll.

“It is ruining my life,” Baum said.

Ivan Mora said traffic has steadily deteriorated since he moved to Austin.

“Traffic’s been really bad,” Mora said. “I’ve lived here all my life, since 2008, and it’s only gotten worse.”

Drivers heading south currently have express lane entrances and exits near Cesar Chavez Street and Fifth Street. But farther down the highway, traffic often slows to a crawl, with long stretches of stop-and-go traffic.

Transportation officials have been trying to address the problem for years.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is proposing a project known as “MoPac South,” which would add two new toll lanes in both directions between Cesar Chavez Street and Slaughter Lane.

Baum said expanding the roadway may be necessary to keep up with the city’s rapid growth, but he isn't convinced about the extra toll lanes.

“It’s not fair for us Austinites to have to spend so much of our lives sitting around in cars just because the infrastructure hasn’t kept up," Baum said. "But I'm skeptical about some of the solutions."

The Mobility Authority recently released a public environmental assessment stating that the expansion would not have significant environmental impacts.

However, some environmental advocates disagree.

Bill Bunch, Executive Director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, said the report does not fully account for environmental risks during construction.

“The agency’s environmental document that’s out for public comment right now completely ignores the damage that would happen in five to seven years of construction, when there’s massive erosion and runoff problems from the construction project itself,” Bunch said.

On Thursday, the organization unveiled the Better MoPac Coalition, partnering with other environmental and transportation groups to oppose the proposed toll lane expansion.

Read the full story at our news partner KVUE.com.

construction highways roads environment

Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary goes further in Austin in 2026 than it did last year

Photo by Delfina Iacub on Unsplash

A $100,000 salary goes a little further in 2026.

A 2026 income study has good news for above-average earners in Austin: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

An Austin resident's $100,000 salary is worth $82,446 after taxes and being adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's $1,841 more value than they were bringing home last year.

The 2026 take-home pay equivalent is about five percent higher than it was in 2024, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $78,089.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state, and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Austin ranked No. 53 among U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least. If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Austin in the No. 17 spot nationwide.

Manhattan, New York, remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Plano (No. 27): $72,653
Dallas (No. 47): $80,103
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
Houston (No. 60): $84,840
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

smartasset income finance six figures