Selling at $586,700 in Denver, buying at $512,700 in Austin
This route runs downhill on price. A typical Denver home is worth $586,700 and a typical Austin home $512,700, a gap of 13%. If you own in Denver, that spread can mean a smaller mortgage in Austin, a bigger house for the same payment, or cash left after closing. It also means the sale and the purchase rarely land on the same day, so decide early whether your belongings go straight to the new address or wait in storage for a few weeks.
Treat the closing dates as the spine of the move. Book your mover only once you know when you get keys in Austin, and ask for a delivery window with room for a closing that slips.
Renting in Austin: a small saving and a lease calendar to match
Austin's renter share is 56% against Denver's 51%. The median rent is $1,655 a month in Austin and $1,770 in Denver, a saving of 6%. Over a year that adds up, but it will not rewrite your plans on its own.
The bigger effect is on timing. Tour in person if you can, or on a live video walk-through, before you sign. Line up your Denver move-out date with your Austin move-in date so you are not paying two rents or sleeping on a couch with a truck waiting.
Apartment towers to driveways, or the other way around
Austin and Denver are built differently, and the difference changes moving day. In Denver, 45% of homes sit in buildings of five or more units and 41% are detached houses. In Austin, 42% are in larger buildings and 44% are detached. The split is close, so what matters is your own pair of addresses.
- Apartment to house. Your old building may need a reserved elevator and a loading-dock slot. At the new place a truck has to get near the driveway, and the crew will carry things up and down stairs.
- House to apartment. Ask the new building about move-in hours, elevator padding and where a long truck may park. A building that limits move-ins to certain hours can push delivery to a different day than you planned.
- House to house. Driveway length, stairs, and whether a large truck can turn onto your street are the questions that move the price.
Tell the mover about both ends when you ask for a survey, so these show up in the written estimate instead of arriving as a surprise charge.
Austin is the bigger city, and the roads show it
Austin has 967,862 residents and Denver has 713,734, so you are moving to the larger place, and its metro area stretches well past the city limits. For the unload, ask whether your Austin address needs a parking reservation or permit, and file the request as early as the city or building allows. Address changes run at a similar pace at both ends: 21% of Austin residents and 20% of Denver residents moved within the previous year.
Where you land should follow where you work, because I-35 and MoPac are hard going at peak hours, and Austin's public transit, while improving, leaves you car-dependent outside the urban core. Denver's light rail is something you will be leaving behind. Here is a rough orientation:
- Central Austin, Travis Heights and South Congress. Walkable and culturally rich, and the priciest real estate in the city. The closest match to Capitol Hill or the Highlands.
- East Austin. It has gentrified over the past decade, with some of the best local food and music and a mix of older bungalows and new construction.
- The Domain and North Austin. A suburban, tech-heavy corridor with newer housing and easy highway access.
- Cedar Park, Round Rock and Pflugerville. The outer suburbs to the north, where home prices tend to be easier to meet and schools are well regarded. The trade-off is commute time on busy roads.
- South Austin, Buda and Kyle. Fast-growing and more laid-back than the north. South Lamar is a local favorite.
Movers in Austin also know building access restrictions and HOA rules that affect delivery, and the movers in Austin list is the place to start for that end.
Level paychecks, lower housing costs, and a tax change
Median household income is $91,461 in Austin and $91,681 in Denver, nearly identical, so the 13% home-value gap and the 6% rent gap are a plain difference in what housing takes out of the same paycheck. That can fund the move, a bigger deposit, or furniture bought new in Austin instead of hauled down.
Across all spending, the picture is more modest. On the federal price index for 2024 (U.S. = 100), the Austin area scores 98 and the Denver area 106, so prices run about 7% lower in Austin, a modest difference on day one.
The tax change is larger. Texas has no state income tax, while Colorado charges a flat income tax of 4.4%, which comes to roughly $5,280 a year on a $120,000 salary. Texas leans more on property taxes, which tend to run higher than Colorado's, so a homebuyer should run both sides of the arithmetic before counting the whole difference as savings.
From 300 days of sun to Central Texas summers
Denver brings roughly 300 days of sunshine, dry summers that average highs around 90 degrees, snowy winters, and some wildfire smoke from the Rockies and the Front Range in summer. Austin runs the other way: long, humid summers that regularly pass 100 degrees and can hold there for weeks, mild winters with rare freezes, severe thunderstorm, hail and tornado risk in spring, and the occasional winter ice storm, as in February 2021, when a multi-day freeze brought extended grid failure and burst pipes.
For the move itself, that means:
- A summer delivery in Austin means unloading in the heat. Ask the crew how they handle breaks, and keep water and shade ready for a long unload.
- Spring storms can delay a truck or a delivery window, so keep the date flexible if you can.
- Pack heat-sensitive items, such as candles, vinyl records, house plants and some electronics, with the heat in mind, or carry them yourself.
- Winter storms can close roads at either end, so a January move needs extra margin.
For the first months in the house, expect higher cooling bills, and shift outdoor time to early mornings and evenings from June through September. Carry renter's or homeowner's insurance, and learn what winterization your Austin property has or lacks.
Planning a Denver to Austin move, step by step
Colorado to Texas is an interstate move, so federal moving rules apply. Movers price it on the weight of what you ship, the services you add (packing, specialty-item crating, storage in transit, stairs, long carries from truck to door) and the date you pick. The price range at the top of this page shows the typical spread. Your own quote depends on your inventory, access at both addresses and the carrier's current pricing.
- Decide what rides the truck. Weight drives the price, so heavy items you rarely use are the easiest to leave off. Weigh each against the cost of replacing it in Austin.
- Fix the dates. Anchor them to your Austin keys or lease start, as above.
- Book surveys. Get at least three written estimates. An in-home or detailed video survey produces a quote that holds up better than a phone description.
- Ask about the delivery window. Long-haul carriers often consolidate loads, so your furniture may ride with other shipments, and delivery often falls a few business days after pickup, longer for large shipments. Ask for the spread in writing and know it before you commit.
- Sign nothing until the paperwork is complete. The next section covers what it must say.
What federal law gives you between Colorado and Texas
Crossing a state line puts Full Value Protection in force automatically, which obliges the mover to repair, replace or pay the replacement value of damaged goods. The cheaper alternative, Released Value at 60 cents per pound per article, applies only if you sign a written waiver choosing it, and at that rate a flat-screen TV or a good piece of furniture would be repaid for very little. Valuation is the mover's liability level, not insurance, so compare Full Value Protection with a separate moving insurance policy before deciding.
Every estimate must say whether it is binding or non-binding, and the way each works at the Austin door is different:
- Binding: you pay the quoted amount at delivery, plus services added after signing, plus up to 15% for impracticable operations. A guaranteed not-to-exceed price is a common version of this and is worth asking for.
- Non-binding: the bill follows the actual weight, and the mover must hand over your goods once you pay 110% of the estimate. Any balance is billed after 30 days from delivery.
Written estimates should rest on a physical survey, in person or by live or recorded video, unless you waive it in writing. Be wary of a carrier that refuses a survey or offers only a rough phone quote, which is a common precursor to a hostage load, where goods are held until a higher price is paid.
No law sets a number of days for delivery. The window written on your bill of lading governs, and the mover must give 24 hours' notice and tell you as soon as it knows of a delay. You must receive that bill of lading at least 3 days before loading and may cancel within those 3 days, and you should never sign a blank one. FMCSA treats a large cash deposit as a red flag, though no federal cap applies. If something is damaged, file the claim in writing within 9 months of delivery. The mover must acknowledge it within 30 days and pay, decline or make an offer within 120 days, and a note on the delivery receipt does not count as a claim.
Finding a carrier licensed for Colorado to Texas
A mover crossing from Colorado into Texas must hold an active USDOT number and motor carrier (MC) authority, both of which you can look up for free at protectyourmove.gov or through FMCSA. A company that cannot give you those numbers is not one to hire.
Our team has 35+ years of hands-on service-provider experience, including an operator who ran a moving company for 18 years.
The advice from that experience is to find out who will do the work. On FMCSA's search, a "Motor Carrier of Household Goods" is a company that moves you itself, and a "Broker of Household Goods" books your job and hands it to another carrier. A broker has no trucks of its own, so if you use one, ask which carrier will show up. Check recent reviews for specific feedback on long-distance jobs, not only local ones.
Start with movers in Denver to find companies that run the Texas corridor, then find movers for your route, or browse by state if Austin turns out not to be the right fit and you want to look at other Texas cities.
After the truck leaves: Texas registration and licensing
Register your car in Texas within 30 days and get your Texas driver license within 90 days. If the car was already registered in your name in Colorado, you pay a $90 new-resident tax instead of sales tax. Austin is among the metro areas where emissions tests still apply. For anything else, check with the state driver license office.
Questions that come up between Colorado and Central Texas
Does dropping Colorado's income tax make Austin cheaper for me?
On a $120,000 salary, Colorado's 4.4% flat income tax comes to roughly $5,280 a year that stays with you in Texas. Texas property taxes tend to run higher than Colorado's, though, so run the numbers on a specific house before assuming a windfall.
Which months keep me out of both Denver snow and Austin summer?
Late September through November sits between Austin's 100-degree summers and Denver's snowy winters. February and March also avoid both extremes, but Central Texas spring brings severe thunderstorms, hail and tornado risk, and winter ice can still return, as in February 2021.
How do I check that a mover is allowed to carry my goods from Colorado into Texas?
Ask for the company's USDOT number and MC authority, then look both up on protectyourmove.gov. Any company moving household goods across a state line needs both, and one that cannot provide them should be crossed off your list.
What should I do to the house in Austin before the first summer and the next freeze?
Plan for quality window coverings and a well-maintained HVAC system. If you are buying, check that the home has enough insulation for summer cooling and some freeze protection, which matters after the 2021 storm. Lightweight, breathable clothing suits about six months of the year, and the heavy winter wardrobe you needed in Denver can shrink.