Stack 1: Before You Buy · 4 min read
Packing notes
- Pflugerville has the lowest median home value of the three; Cedar Park the highest.
- Round Rock grew 18.2 percent from 2020 to 2025.
- City tax rates differ, and the school district can differ even within one city.
For many Austin buyers the real choice is not a neighborhood in the city but a suburb to the north. Round Rock, Cedar Park and Pflugerville are the three largest, each with its own city government, tax rate and mix of school districts. Here is how they compare on the numbers the Census Bureau and the local taxing units publish, and what to check before you choose.
At a glance
| Round Rock | Cedar Park | Pflugerville | Austin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population, July 2025 | 141,282 | 79,032 | 68,316 | 1,002,632 |
| Growth, 2020 to 2025 | 18.2% | 1.8% | 4.8% | 4.6% |
| Median home value | $418,600 | $513,600 | $402,400 | $555,300 |
| Median owner cost with mortgage | $2,364 | $2,717 | $2,262 | $2,679 |
| Median gross rent | $1,763 | $1,846 | $1,932 | $1,729 |
| Owner-occupied rate | 55.5% | 66.7% | 69.9% | 43.4% |
| Median household income | $99,287 | $129,545 | $117,799 | $93,658 |
| Mean commute, minutes | 24.9 | 25.5 | 27.4 | 23.7 |
All figures except population come from the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, as shown in QuickFacts.
Round Rock
Round Rock is the largest of the three and the fastest growing: its population rose 18.2 percent between April 2020 and July 2025, to 141,282, according to Census estimates. Its median home value of $418,600 is well below Austin’s, and its median owner cost with a mortgage, $2,364 a month, is about $315 less than Austin’s. Just over half of its homes are owner-occupied, so it has a substantial rental market as well.
Cedar Park
Cedar Park is the most expensive of the three, with a median home value of $513,600 and a median owner cost of $2,717 a month, slightly above Austin’s. It also has the highest median household income, $129,545, and the largest share of residents who lived in the same house a year earlier, 88.0 percent, which points to a settled, stable population. Growth since 2020 has been slow, 1.8 percent.
Pflugerville
Pflugerville has the lowest median home value of the three, $402,400, and the lowest median owner cost, $2,262 a month. It also has the highest owner-occupied rate, 69.9 percent. Interestingly, its median rent, $1,932, is the highest of the group, which narrows the gap between renting and owning there. Residents report the longest average commute of the three, 27.4 minutes.
Families and households
The suburbs are where many Austin-area families settle. Census figures put the share of residents under 18 at 25.7 percent in Cedar Park, 25.0 percent in Pflugerville and 23.5 percent in Round Rock, compared with 18.0 percent in Austin. Households are larger too: an average of 2.70 people in Cedar Park, 2.69 in Pflugerville and 2.61 in Round Rock, against 2.10 in the city. If schools are part of the decision, that is one more reason to confirm the exact school district for each address before you compare homes.
City tax rates
Each city sets its own property tax rate. Travis County’s published rates for the 2025 tax year, per $100 of taxable value, were:
| City | 2025 city rate | 2026 adopted city rate |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Park | 0.360000 | 0.377930 |
| Round Rock | 0.372000 | 0.423000 |
| Pflugerville | 0.535000 | 0.543600 |
| Austin | 0.524017 | 0.579948 |
The city rate is only one line of the bill. A full bill also includes the county, the school district and, depending on the address, a community college, hospital, emergency services or municipal utility district. Much of Round Rock and Cedar Park lies in Williamson County, whose rates are published by that county, not Travis.
School districts do not follow city lines
In Texas, school districts are separate taxing units, and their boundaries rarely match city limits. Travis County’s 2025 table lists Round Rock ISD at 0.8931 per $100, Leander ISD at 1.0869 and Pflugerville ISD at 1.1069. A house in one of these suburbs could fall into any of several districts, each with its own rate and campuses. Look up the exact address in the appraisal district’s records to see which taxing units apply.
Municipal utility districts
Some subdivisions are in a municipal utility district, or MUD. Under the Texas Water Code, such districts provide water, sewer, drainage or flood control facilities that may be financed with bonds paid from the district’s own taxes, and a seller of property in one must give the buyer a written notice. Travis County’s rate table lists dozens of MUDs. Read the notice, ask for the district’s rate and include it in your budget.
Tip: Before an offer, pull the property’s current tax statement or appraisal record and list every taxing unit and its rate. Two homes at the same price in neighboring subdivisions can have very different bills.
Which one fits?
- Lowest entry price and higher owner share: Pflugerville.
- Largest city with the most growth, shops and rentals: Round Rock.
- Established, higher-income suburb with less new building: Cedar Park.
- Shortest average commute and the widest choice: Austin itself, at a higher price.
For other places across the region, from Taylor to Lakeway, see Austin-Area Neighborhoods by Budget: Where Different Price Ranges Go Furthest. To estimate the full tax bill for a home on your list, use Texas Property Tax for Austin Homeowners: Rates, Deadlines and Protests.