What Students Pay to Live in Austin
By Muntasir • Published Aug 05, 2026 • Updated Aug 08, 2026 • US States & Cities
HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Austin metro area is $1,450 a month, while average asking rent for a two-bedroom runs closer to $1,760. Texas charges no state income tax, which helps offset the rent.
🏠 HUD Fair Market Rent, Austin-Round Rock, 2BR: $1,450/month (FY2026)
💵 Average asking rent, 2BR: $1,760/month in 2026
🚊 CapMetro single ride: $1.25, daily fare cap with tap or app: $2.50
📩 Texas has no state income tax, so a part-time paycheck goes further than in many other states
🎓 UT Austin sits in the middle of the city, pushing rent up close to campus and down farther out
What Rent Costs in Austin
HUD's Fair Market Rent for the Austin-Round Rock metro area, which spans Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, is $1,450 a month for a two-bedroom unit in fiscal year 2026, according to HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent schedule . That is the highest Fair Market Rent of any Texas metro, ahead of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
Actual asking rent runs above that federal benchmark. Average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Austin sits around $1,760 a month in 2026, according to USRentPrices . The gap reflects Austin's tight rental market, driven partly by tech-sector hiring that has pushed demand for apartments near downtown and the University of Texas campus.
CapMetro Fares
Capital Metro runs Austin's buses and the MetroRail commuter line. A single local ride costs $1.25, and CapMetro caps your daily spending at $2.50 if you pay with the Umo app, a reloadable CapMetro card or a tap-to-pay credit or debit card, according to Hoodline . CapMetro retired its paper day pass in 2026 as part of a shift to account-based fare capping, so riders paying with exact cash no longer qualify for that daily cap.
| Fare type | 2026 price |
|---|---|
| Single local ride | $1.25 |
| Daily fare cap, tap or app | $2.50 |
To get the daily cap, load an Umo account, a CapMetro reloadable card, or use a tap-to-pay bank card at the farebox rather than paying cash for each ride.
No State Income Tax
Texas does not collect a state income tax, which matters if you work a part-time job while studying. A paycheck in Austin keeps more of its face value than the same paycheck would in a state with income tax, which can offset some of the rent gap between Austin and cheaper Texas metros. Property and sales taxes still fund Texas cities, so overall cost of living is not automatically lower, but your take-home pay from campus jobs and internships stretches further.
A Monthly Snapshot
Split the $1,450 HUD two-bedroom benchmark between two roommates and each person pays around $725 for rent. Add a CapMetro pass on top and a rider who commutes on transit most days spends no more than $2.50 daily under the fare cap, or roughly $50 to $75 across a full month of weekday trips. That puts a shared, transit-commuting budget for housing and transportation in the $775 to $800 range per person before food, utilities and phone bills, well under a solo one-bedroom lease near downtown.
Ways Students Cut Costs
Set up an Umo account or tap-to-pay card on CapMetro so you get the $2.50 daily fare cap instead of paying $1.25 per ride with cash.
Look east of I-35 or north of campus for apartments priced closer to the $1,450 HUD benchmark rather than the $1,760 average asking rent near downtown.
Split a two-bedroom or larger unit with roommates. Austin's rental stock skews toward multi-bedroom units near UT Austin.
Factor in the lack of state income tax when comparing a campus job or internship offer in Austin against one in a state that taxes wages.
Check your school's cost-of-attendance page for on-campus and university-affiliated housing rates before signing a private lease.