2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Amherst Town Metro, MA

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-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$96,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-3.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,780
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$756
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,536/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-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
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 -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $60,820
Target Market
Destination Location

Amherst Town-Northampton, MA

COL 121.2
Gross Parity Income $96,500
Federal Income Tax -$12,400
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,382
State Income Tax -$4,605
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,113
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,116
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,997

EPI family budgets put living costs 3.5% lower in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $96,500 in Amherst Town. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,593 in Amherst Town, $756 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,780 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Amherst Town. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,536 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $57,030 in Amherst Town.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Amherst Town-Northampton (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,593+$63+4.1%
Food & Groceries$334$431+$97+29.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,106+$44+4.1%
Healthcare$467$429-$38-8.1%
Other Necessities$585$510-$75-12.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,133+$398+22.9%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$63/mo (4.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Amherst Town-Northampton: $1,593/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$217/mo (11.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Amherst Town-Northampton: $2,034/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.96/hr (-3.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Amherst Town-Northampton: $26.81/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.67/hr (7.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Amherst Town-Northampton: $25.45/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Amherst Town-Northampton Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$98,200-$19,650 (-16.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$126,670-$7,450 (-5.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$101,270+$3,380 (+3.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$85,320-$17,070 (-16.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$84,390+$1,270 (+1.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$156,040-$20,950 (-11.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$95,280-$34,190 (-26.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$138,100-$13,660 (-9.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$76,980+$16,590 (+27.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$144,950-$22,230 (-13.3%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$161,020-$3,900 (-2.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$103,610-$2,990 (-2.8%)View Dossier

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-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Relocation FAQs

About $96,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 121.2 in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Amherst Town-Northampton, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Amherst Town Metro, MA Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Amherst Town Metro, MA compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

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

About $96,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 121.2 in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Amherst Town-Northampton, MA cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 3.5% lower in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.