2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Asheville, NC

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 Asheville, NC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$98,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-1.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$2,208
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,689/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

Asheville, NC

COL 124.1
Gross Parity Income $98,800
Federal Income Tax -$12,906
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,558
State Income Tax -$3,433
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,902
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$20,568
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,334

EPI family budgets put living costs 1.2% lower in Asheville, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $98,800 in Asheville. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,714 in Asheville, $2,208 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,481 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Asheville. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,689 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $46,870 in Asheville.

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) Asheville (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,714+$184+12.0%
Food & Groceries$334$389+$55+16.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,035-$27-2.5%
Healthcare$467$530+$63+13.5%
Other Necessities$585$520-$65-11.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$184/mo (12.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Asheville: $1,714/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$49/mo (2.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Asheville: $1,866/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.32/hr (-1.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Asheville: $27.45/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.46/hr (-1.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Asheville: $23.32/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 Asheville Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$93,470-$24,380 (-20.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$134,350+$230 (+0.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,590-$16,300 (-16.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$97,470-$4,920 (-4.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$80,400-$2,720 (-3.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$163,290-$13,700 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$99,350-$30,120 (-23.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$121,670-$30,090 (-19.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$54,590-$5,800 (-9.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$152,270-$14,910 (-8.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$150,610-$14,310 (-8.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$75,990-$30,610 (-28.7%)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 Asheville, NC Relocation FAQs

About $98,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 124.1 in Asheville, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Asheville, NC: 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 Asheville, NC to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $98,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 124.1 in Asheville, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 1.2% lower in Asheville, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.