A new cost-of-living index underscores what many Austin renters are painfully aware of: Local rents rank among the costliest in the U.S.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index for 2025 shows the rent index for Austin sits at 50.1, putting it in 12th place among major cities in North America and highest in Texas, above the indexes for Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The rent index in New York City, which tops the list, is 100.

As Numbeo explains, the rent index estimates the cost of renting an apartment in a city compared with New York City. If the rent index is 50, for example, this suggests the average rent in that city is 50 percent below the average rent in New York City.

Elsewhere in Texas, the rent index is:

• 46.2 in Dallas
• 39.8 in Houston
• 34.6 in San Antonio

Even though Austin is a pricey apartment market, renters have gotten a big break recently. A new report from Apartment List shows the Austin metro area recorded the biggest year-over-year drop in rental rates in December — 7.4 percent — among U.S. metros.

With a December decrease of 0.6 percent, 2024 marked the second straight year that the national median rent ended the year lower than it started, according to Apartment List.

“Rent increases are currently being moderated by a robust construction pipeline that delivered a decades-high number of new apartment units in 2024. While the supply boom may have peaked in 2024, there is considerable runway still to go in 2025,” says Apartment List.

Cost of living
While Austin holds the top Texas spot on Numbeo’s rent index, Dallas ranks first in the Lone Star State and 24th in North America on the overall cost-of-living index, landing at 65.8. As with the rent index, the cost-of-living index compares the cost of living in New York City (which sits at 100) with the cost of living in another city. Among Texas cities, Austin is at 61.7, Houston at 60.6, and San Antonio at 58.8.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index takes into account the cost of items like groceries, restaurant meals, transportation, and utilities. The index excludes rent.

When rent is added to the cost-of-living index, Dallas grabs the No. 21 spot in North America (57.1), one notch above Austin (56.6). Houston ranks 35th (51.4) and San Antonio ranks 42nd (34.6).

Unbiased, a personal finance website, reported in November that the cost of living in Dallas is 3 percent higher than the national average and 12 percent higher than the Texas average. Data from Numbeo indicates that a single person in Dallas spends an estimated $1,192 a month without rent. For a family of four in Dallas, estimated monthly costs total $4,202 without rent.

“On average, you can expect to pay more for almost everything in Dallas than you would in many other cities and towns in Texas,” Unbiased notes. “However, your personal preferences and purchasing choices may allow for a slightly lower or higher cost of living than the average resident.”

Restaurant index
In contrast to its showing on the rent and cost-of-living indexes, Houston outranks Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio on Numbeo’s restaurant index. This index compares the prices of meals and drinks at restaurants and bars to those in New York City.

Houston sits at No. 25 on the restaurant index, at 68.9. Dallas comes in at No. 32 (67.1), Austin at No. 34 (66.6), and San Antonio at No. 36 (65.2).

The National Restaurant Association reported in December that menu prices in the U.S. had risen 3.6 percent in the past 12 months, outpacing gains in grocery prices and the federal government’s overall Consumer Price Index. Fortunately for diners, that was the smallest 12-month increase in menu prices since August 2020, according to the association.

Toast, which provides a cloud-based restaurant management system, says the higher menu prices reflect higher food prices.

“Food prices have been increasing due to inflation, labor expenses, fuel costs, and supply chain disruptions, all of which impact restaurant profitability, Toast says. “While raising menu prices is one option to combat rising food costs, some restaurants have introduced service charges and simplified menus to avoid passing all costs onto customers.”