Austin 55+ Retirement Budget & Cost of Living

Monthly Budget by Community

Austin's 55+ communities span a wide cost range, and the HOA fee alone can be misleading — it depends heavily on what's bundled in. Sun City Texas in Georgetown keeps its base HOA unusually low at roughly $100/month, but that figure does not include golf; access to its three courses (Legacy Hills, White Wing, and Cowan Creek) is a separate optional plan running about $1,500–$3,500 per year. Kissing Tree in San Marcos runs closer to $263/month base, while its attached Villas at Kissing Tree product runs about $255/month but bundles lawn care into that fee. Communities built around Lake Travis — Trilogy at Rough Hollow and Amante at Rough Hollow, both in Lakeway — carry the highest monthly HOA costs in the corridor, reflecting larger homes, lake access, and more elaborate shared amenities.

The Texas Tax Trade-Off

Texas has no state income tax — a straightforward, well-known fact that matters enormously to a retiree drawing $80,000–$150,000/year from pensions, Social Security, and retirement accounts. But the other half of the equation is property tax, and it is genuinely high: effective rates of 2.0–2.5% are common statewide, and Williamson County (home to Georgetown and Sun City Texas) runs an estimated 1.8–2.1% before exemptions.

The exemptions matter a great deal for buyers 65 and older. A standard homestead exemption of $140,000 applies in 2026, and an additional over-65 school exemption of $60,000 further reduces the school-tax portion of the bill. Texas also locks in a school tax freeze at the age you turn 65, meaning that portion of the bill never increases again. Applied to a $500,000 Williamson County home, that works out to an estimated $5,400–$7,200/year in total property tax for a 65+ primary-residence owner with all exemptions applied — compared with an estimated $11,000–$14,000/year on the same home value for a buyer moving from a high-property-tax state like New Jersey without those exemptions, a swing of roughly $3,800–$8,600/year.

Buyers in newer developments around Lakeway and Rough Hollow should also budget for Municipal Utility District (MUD) taxes, which can add an estimated $1,500–$3,500/year on top of standard property tax and are frequently missed in first-pass budgeting.

What Drives Cost Up or Down Here

Three things move the needle most in this market. First, golf: at Sun City Texas the base HOA looks low precisely because golf access is unbundled and sold separately, so a buyer who wants to play needs to add that $1,500–$3,500/year back into the comparison. Second, age of construction: Sun City Texas is now more than 25 years old, and its lower-priced resale inventory (starting near $300K) is reaching the point where HVAC systems, roofs, and kitchens are due for renovation — a real cost that a sticker-price comparison alone won't show. Third, location within the corridor: communities near Lake Travis (Trilogy and Amante at Rough Hollow) carry both higher home prices and higher monthly HOA costs, plus potential MUD tax exposure, while communities further out like Kissing Tree in San Marcos offer a lower overall cost basis with the trade-off of a longer drive into central Austin.