2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$129,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+29.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$8,556
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$8,556/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Austin County, TX

COL 96.7
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$0
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $79,180
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,804
Discretionary Cash Flow $69,376
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $129,800
Federal Income Tax -$19,886
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,930
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $99,984
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $81,624

EPI family budgets put living costs 29.8% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Austin County, TX, so $100,000 in Austin County goes about as far as $129,800 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $817 a month in Austin County and $1,530 in Austin, $8,556 a year more. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $8,556 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,410 in Austin County (BLS figure for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area) and $56,950 in Austin.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Austin County (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$817$1,530+$713+87.3%
Food & Groceries$314$334+$20+6.4%
Transportation$1,176$1,062-$114-9.7%
Healthcare$498$467-$31-6.2%
Other Necessities$346$585+$239+69.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$713/mo (87.3%)
Austin County: $817/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$748/mo (70.0%)
Austin County: $1,069/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$6.38/hr (29.8%)
Austin County: $21.39/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$4.16/hr (21.2%)
Austin County: $19.62/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Austin County Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $129,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.7 in Austin County, TX, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Austin County, TX
Relocation: Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

Austin County, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Austin County, TX?

About $129,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.7 in Austin County, TX, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX cheaper than Austin County, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 29.8% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Austin County, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.