What does WatchPennies calculate?

WatchPennies estimates cost of living by US county across housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Do I need an account to use WatchPennies?

No. WatchPennies is a privacy-first web calculator that can be used without creating an account.

Can I compare two counties on WatchPennies?

Yes. WatchPennies lets you compare counties and adjust salary and family type to estimate relative cost differences.

What does the Cook County, IL vs Travis County, TX comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Can I change the salary and family type?

Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

Does WatchPennies require an account for comparisons?

No. County comparisons are available without creating an account.

Cook County, IL vs Travis County, TX: Cost of Living Difference

Is it cheaper?

Cook County, IL is cheaper than Travis County, TX.

Moving to Travis County, TX is estimated to cost $1,887 more per year.

Cheaper County

Cook County, ILSpend $1,887 more per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Cook County, IL is about $51,705 in Travis County, TX.

Biggest drivers

Transport increases by $1,754 per year. Taxes saves $2,050 per year.

Housing: $1,732 higher in Travis County, TX

Taxes: $2,050 lower in Travis County, TX

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $638 higher in Travis County, TX

Food: $554 lower in Travis County, TX

Transport: $1,754 higher in Travis County, TX

Cook County, IL→Travis County, TX

Equivalent salary in Travis County, TX

$51,705

+3.41% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Cook County, IL: $102,297

Median Income in Travis County, TX: $126,667

Living Index in Cook County, IL 54.16%

Living Index in Travis County, TX 45.23%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Cook County, IL to Travis County, TX.

* Living index is estimated as (estimated total cost / area median income) * 100. A living index above 100% means modeled costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from Cook County, IL to Travis County, TX is estimated to cost $1,887 more per year. To maintain similar purchasing power, a $50,000 salary in Cook County, IL would need to be about $51,705 in Travis County, TX. The biggest increase is transport, followed by housing.

This is a 3.41% increase in modeled annual costs. Transport is $1,754 per year higher (17.41%); Housing is $1,732 per year higher (10.08%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Travis County, TX.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Travis County, TX

Annual Increase:

$1,754 per year

TRANSPORT has the largest annual increase when moving to Travis County, TX.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Travis County, TX

Annual Savings:

$2,050 per year

TAXES has the largest annual savings when moving to Travis County, TX.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	10.08% higher
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $17178.00 $18910.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	-11.88% lower
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $4662.00 $4108.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	17.41% higher
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $10077.00 $11831.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	12.83% higher
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $4971.00 $5609.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	5.38% higher
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $6781.00 $7146.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Childcare	0.00% higher
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	-17.48% lower
Cook County, IL Travis County, TX Average Cost $11731.00 $9681.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In Travis County, TX, modeled annual costs are $57,286 compared with $55,399 in Cook County, IL.

Overall, annual costs are higher in Travis County, TX. The category breakdown above shows whether housing, taxes, transportation, healthcare, food, childcare, or other necessities are driving the increase.

In this case Travis County, TX and Cook County, IL are both metropolitan locations.

Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.

Use the Cost of Living Map