3 Reasons Austin Is Becoming More Expensive for Retirees in 2025
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Austin is one of the most expensive cities to live in Texas, which can be especially challenging for retirees living on a fixed income. While Florida is the most popular retirement location, Texas also offers favorable tax policies, warm weather and a generally lower cost of living.
“If someone is considering retiring in Austin, I would recommend looking at the surrounding cities like Round Rock or Leander, Texas, where the median home price is in the $420,000-430,000 range as opposed to $543,000 in Austin,” Holden Andrews, real estate investor and founder of Helpful Home Group, said in an email.
Here are three reasons why Austin is straining retirees’ budgets, according to experts.
Population Boom
Texas saw a population boom during the pandemic, and the local housing market wasn’t able to keep up. “Texas added nearly 1.6 million people between 2020 and 2023, and Austin is the fastest-growing metro area in the state,” explained Matt Hutchinson, global communications director at SpareRoom.
According to Hutchinson, rental supply hasn’t been able to keep pace with the population growth, and demand has pushed rents up. Citing SpareRoom data, Hutchinson noted the average rent in Austin increased by 17% in the past year, and renting a room in the Austin metro area now costs $1,097 per month on average.
“This affects retirees, particularly those who need to downsize or sell up and rent to access the wealth locked up in their homes,” he explained. “Rented accommodation is expensive, and those looking to buy are up against landlords looking for properties, too.”
Demand for Housing
The population boom also created increased demand for housing, particularly from celebrities and tech workers.
A reason Austin is becoming more expensive is the influx of celebrities — Joe Rogan, Tom Segura, Tony Hinchcliffe, Shane Gillis and Elon Musk — that moved there over the last few years, Andrews pointed out.
“I think the main reason the housing prices are going up is because of the increased demand that spawns from people like Elon Musk or Joe Rogan bringing people in that wouldn’t have traditionally wanted to live in Austin,” he explained.
Low Housing Supply
The growing population and increased demand for housing have also impacted the supply of available homes.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) even awarded more than $6.7 million to the city of Austin through the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program to go toward building more homes and lowering the costs of renting and buying a home.
“This increased demand then causes housing to become more expensive in response to it, and Austin hasn’t been able to catch up with housing supply for things to level out,” Andrews wrote.
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