2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Beckley, WV

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 Beckley, WV.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$70,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-29.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,885
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$9,000
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$5,115/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

Beckley, WV

COL 88.5
Gross Parity Income $70,500
Federal Income Tax -$6,680
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,393
State Income Tax -$2,463
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $55,964
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $46,604

EPI family budgets put living costs 29.5% lower in Beckley, WV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $70,500 in Beckley. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $780 in Beckley, $9,000 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,885 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Beckley. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,115 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $41,850 in Beckley.

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) Beckley (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$780-$750-49.0%
Food & Groceries$334$316-$18-5.4%
Transportation$1,062$1,042-$20-1.9%
Healthcare$467$778+$311+66.6%
Other Necessities$585$318-$267-45.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,059+$324+18.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$750/mo (-49.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Beckley: $780/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$857/mo (-47.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Beckley: $960/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$9.97/hr (-35.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Beckley: $17.80/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$10.72/hr (45.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Beckley: $34.50/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 Beckley Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$79,770-$38,080 (-32.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$100,840-$33,280 (-24.8%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$78,680-$19,210 (-19.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$76,230-$26,160 (-25.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$72,120-$11,000 (-13.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$125,600-$51,390 (-29.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$103,520-$25,950 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$85,630-$66,130 (-43.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$63,060+$2,670 (+4.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$115,130-$52,050 (-31.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$94,520-$12,080 (-11.3%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$50,140-$12,670 (-20.2%)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 Beckley, WV Relocation FAQs

About $70,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 88.5 in Beckley, WV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $70,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 88.5 in Beckley, WV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 29.5% lower in Beckley, WV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.