Austin, TX vs Wake Forest, NC

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Austin

68.3

#1322 nationally

Wake Forest

68.8

#1286 nationally

Austin leads in walk score (42 vs 20). Wake Forest leads in median household income ($115,159 vs $91,461). Austin leads in average commute (26.8 min vs 31.7 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Austin, TX	Wake Forest, NC
WhereAtHome Score	68.3 (#1322)	68.8 (#1286)
Population	967,862	54,337
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$504,148	$513,720
Median Household Income	$91,461	$115,159
Average Commute	26.8 min	31.7 min
Walk Score	42	20
Crime Level	Moderate	4.0
School Rating	7.2	N/A
Cost of Living Index	129	116
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+39.3	D+25.6