Georgetown vs Round Rock vs Cedar Park: Which Austin Suburb Is Right for You? (2026)

If you're weighing Georgetown, Round Rock, and Cedar Park, the good news is there's no wrong answer — all three are well-run North Austin suburbs with strong demand. The real question is which set of tradeoffs fits you: how far you're willing to drive, what your budget buys, and the kind of town you want to live in. Here's a straight, data-backed look.

Quick comparison

Home figures below reflect every active listing in each city as of late September 2026. They are asking prices on homes currently for sale, not sold-price data — confirm current numbers before acting.

Two patterns are worth pulling out of that table, because they point in different directions.

Selection tracks distance, cleanly. The farther out you go, the more homes there are to choose from: roughly 350 active listings in Cedar Park, 945 in Round Rock, and about 1,970 in Georgetown. Georgetown alone has more than five times Cedar Park's inventory. If you want room to be picky, that gap is the single biggest difference between these towns.

Price does not track distance. It would be tidy if cost fell steadily the farther you drove, but it doesn't. Cedar Park is the most expensive on both measures, as you'd expect from the closest-in town. Yet Round Rock, at 20 miles, is now the best value per square foot of the three at about $197 — below Georgetown's $205, despite Georgetown being ten miles farther out. If your priority is stretching the dollar rather than widening the search, the middle option currently wins.

What changed over the summer

All three medians came down between late June and late September 2026:

Read that carefully, because it's easy to over-interpret. These are asking prices on homes currently listed, not closed sales. A falling median can mean sellers are pricing more realistically, or that the mix of homes on the market has shifted toward smaller and cheaper ones, or both. It is a genuine signal that the market has cooled from the early-summer peak, and it is not the same thing as "homes lost 8% of their value." For what a specific home is actually worth today, you need comparable sales on that street, not a citywide median.

Georgetown

Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County and leans into a smaller-city identity: a beautifully preserved Victorian courthouse square ringed by local shops and restaurants, the First Fridays events, and the Southwestern University campus lending a bit of college-town energy. It's also home to Sun City, one of Texas's largest active-adult (55+) communities.

• Homes & price: by far the largest selection of the three, with roughly 1,970 active listings — more than Round Rock and Cedar Park combined, twice over. A median home runs about 2,360 sq ft near $460K (~$205/sq ft).
• Commute: the longest of the three at roughly 30 miles to downtown Austin; very manageable to the north Austin job corridors, longer to downtown at peak.
• Best for buyers who want: the widest possible set of options, a historic and less hurried town center, and the freedom to take their time comparing — and who are comfortable trading a few extra commute minutes for it.

Round Rock

Round Rock is the most established of the three and the strongest job center in its own right — Dell is headquartered here, with Samsung's and Apple's north-Austin campuses within reach. It's a larger, full-service suburb with a long retail and amenity base.

• Homes & price: the best value of the three right now, on both measures — the lowest median list price ($415K) and the lowest cost per square foot ($197). Homes do run smaller, with a median around 2,120 sq ft, so you're buying efficiency rather than sprawl.
• Commute: the middle option at ~20 miles to downtown, with the bonus that many jobs are in Round Rock or just south.
• Best for buyers who want: the shortest path between home and a north-corridor tech job, an established suburb with everything already built out, and the most house per dollar of the three.

Cedar Park

Cedar Park has the youngest, most active-feeling identity of the three. The H-E-B Center anchors a sports-and-entertainment vibe (home to the Texas Stars and Austin Spurs), and its position closest to Austin is a real draw.

• Homes & price: the priciest of the three — a median list near $499K and the highest per-square-foot figure (~$216). It also has the largest typical home, at a median around 2,470 sq ft, and by far the tightest inventory at roughly 350 active listings.
• Commute: the closest in at roughly 17 miles to downtown Austin.
• Best for buyers who want: the shortest drive toward Austin, a newer and more amenity-dense feel, and who have the budget for it and can move quickly in a low-inventory market where the right house may not sit long.

How to decide

Rather than chasing a "best" town, work backward from your own priorities:

1. Where do you actually work, and when do you drive? Map your real route at your real hours. Distance on paper and a 7:45 a.m. commute are very different animals.
2. What does your budget buy? If cost per square foot is what matters, Round Rock currently stretches the dollar furthest. If you want to be close in and will pay for it, Cedar Park does that.
3. How much do you want to choose from? This is where Georgetown separates itself. With nearly 2,000 active listings, it offers a range of price points and home styles the other two simply can't match right now.
4. What do you want from the town itself? Historic-square-and-selection (Georgetown), established-and-job-rich (Round Rock), or newer-and-closest-in (Cedar Park).
5. How fast do you need to move? Low inventory (Cedar Park) usually means acting decisively; deep inventory (Georgetown) gives you room to compare.

A note on schools

These three towns sit in three different school districts — Georgetown ISD, Round Rock ISD, and (for most of Cedar Park) Leander ISD. District ratings change year to year, and attendance zones are tied to the specific street address, not the city. If schools factor into your decision, check the current Texas Education Agency ratings yourself and confirm the exact zone for any home directly with the district before you buy.

Before you act

The home figures here are a snapshot of active listings, not sold prices, and the market moves week to week. Treat them as a starting point for a conversation, and verify current numbers — and the specific costs of any individual home (taxes, HOA/MUD, zone) — before making an offer.

Sources: drive-time and town-character details via moveToAustin.org and the Neuhaus Realty 2026 buyer's guide; home figures computed from all active MLS listings in each city (Realty-in-US), late June 2026 and late September 2026.