2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin County, TX to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$164,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+64.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$16,356
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$16,356/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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

COL 158.8
Gross Parity Income $164,200
Federal Income Tax -$28,142
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$12,561
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $123,497
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$26,160
Discretionary Cash Flow $97,337

EPI family budgets put living costs 64.2% higher in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA than in Austin County, TX, so $100,000 in Austin County goes about as far as $164,200 in Seattle. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $817 a month in Austin County and $2,180 in Seattle, $16,356 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 $16,356 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 $72,610 in Seattle.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Austin County (Monthly) Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$817$2,180+$1,363+166.8%
Food & Groceries$314$421+$107+34.1%
Transportation$1,176$1,020-$156-13.3%
Healthcare$498$398-$100-20.1%
Other Necessities$346$826+$480+138.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$1,363/mo (166.8%)
Austin County: $817/mo Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,180/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$1,480/mo (138.4%)
Austin County: $1,069/mo Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,549/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$13.73/hr (64.2%)
Austin County: $21.39/hr Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $35.12/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$11.48/hr (58.5%)
Austin County: $19.62/hr Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $31.10/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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Relocation FAQs

About $164,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.7 in Austin County, TX, 158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin County, TX to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX
Relocation: Austin County, TX to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Overview

Austin County, TX to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to match $100,000 in Austin County, TX?

About $164,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.7 in Austin County, TX, 158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA cheaper than Austin County, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 64.2% higher in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA than in Austin County, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.