For families relocating from Maryland
UT Austin in-state tuition for Maryland families
A Maryland family pursuing the Texas residency pathway for UT Austin in-state tuition can save approximately $99,660 over the typical three-year in-state pathway (annual savings of $33,220). The standard out-of-state-to-in-state route requires 12 months of Texas domicile (real property, vehicle registration, voter registration, federal tax return with Texas address) before the term's census date. The closest public-college baseline in Maryland is University of Maryland College Park at roughly $12,400/year; UT Austin at the resident rate is $11,688.
Logistics: getting between Maryland and Austin
- Primary airport: BWI
- Flight time to AUS: ~3 hours
- Driving distance to Austin: ~1,500 miles
Cost of living: Maryland vs. Austin
Montgomery County, Howard County, and the DC-suburbs of Maryland run among the most expensive US housing markets. Baltimore proper is significantly cheaper. Maryland state income tax tops out at 5.75% (plus county piggyback taxes of 2.25-3.2%), so the combined Maryland-plus-county tax rate often exceeds 8% on high earners. Texas has no state income tax. The tax savings from a Maryland-to-Texas move can be very substantial.
UT Austin and Maryland
Maryland families, especially those in Montgomery and Howard County, increasingly consider UT for McCombs Business, CS, Plan II Honors, and Cockrell Engineering. The Maryland-DC tech corridor produces high-earning households whose students often weigh UT against the in-state UMD option. UMD at $12,400 is close enough to UT in-state at $11,688 that the cost-only argument is small once residency is established.
The savings math for a Maryland family
Out-of-state tuition at UT Austin is approximately $44,908/year. In-state tuition is $11,688/year. Annual savings from in-state classification: $33,220. Compared to staying in-state at University of Maryland College Park ($12,400/year), UT Austin at the resident rate is $32,508 more per year.
For full year-by-year modeling, use the tuition calculator.
Moving from Maryland, residency considerations
Maryland residency for tax purposes uses a domicile-plus-183-day test. The DC-area employment patterns make the residency-shift analysis more complex; many Maryland-based households have one earner in DC and another in Maryland, and the family's primary domicile can be debated. A clean Texas-residency case typically requires substantive household relocation.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Consult a Texas-licensed attorney or CPA before relying on anything specific.
Frequently asked questions (Maryland)
Is UT after residency cheaper than UMD in-state?
How does Maryland state and county tax compare to Texas?
Will my Maryland 529 plan still work?
How is the BWI-to-Austin flight?
Want a sanity check from a Texas-licensed broker?
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