2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Bay City, MI

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 Bay City, MI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$72,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-28.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,999
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$8,340
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,341/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

Bay City, MI

COL 90.4
Gross Parity Income $72,000
Federal Income Tax -$7,010
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,508
State Income Tax -$2,809
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $56,673
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,020
Discretionary Cash Flow $46,653

EPI family budgets put living costs 28.0% lower in Bay City, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $72,000 in Bay City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $835 in Bay City, $8,340 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,999 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Bay City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,341 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,620 in Bay City.

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) Bay City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$835-$695-45.4%
Food & Groceries$334$319-$15-4.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,030-$32-3.0%
Healthcare$467$402-$65-13.9%
Other Necessities$585$336-$249-42.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,068+$333+19.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$695/mo (-45.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Bay City: $835/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$762/mo (-41.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Bay City: $1,055/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$7.79/hr (-28.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Bay City: $19.98/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.26/hr (-22.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Bay City: $18.52/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 Bay City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$81,450-$36,400 (-30.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$124,420-$9,700 (-7.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$94,170-$8,220 (-8.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$73,320-$9,800 (-11.8%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$159,850-$17,140 (-9.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$130,760-$21,000 (-13.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$80,450+$20,060 (+33.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$124,130-$43,050 (-25.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$114,610+$8,010 (+7.5%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$99,730-$3,250 (-3.2%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$74,490+$11,680 (+18.6%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,110$101,050-$25,060 (-19.9%)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 Bay City, MI Relocation FAQs

About $72,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 90.4 in Bay City, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Bay City, MI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Bay City, MI Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Bay City, MI: 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 Bay City, MI to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $72,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 90.4 in Bay City, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Bay City, MI cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 28.0% lower in Bay City, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.