2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Birmingham, AL

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 Birmingham, AL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,102
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,204
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,898/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

Birmingham, AL

COL 108.5
Gross Parity Income $86,400
Federal Income Tax -$10,178
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,610
State Income Tax -$3,571
Local / City Tax -$864
Net Annual Take-Home $65,177
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,156
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,021

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.6% lower in Birmingham, AL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,400 in Birmingham. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,263 in Birmingham, $3,204 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,102 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Birmingham. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,898 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,770 in Birmingham.

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) Birmingham (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,263-$267-17.5%
Food & Groceries$334$374+$40+12.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,047-$15-1.4%
Healthcare$467$489+$22+4.7%
Other Necessities$585$426-$159-27.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,160+$425+24.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$267/mo (-17.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Birmingham: $1,263/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$442/mo (-24.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Birmingham: $1,375/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.78/hr (-13.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Birmingham: $23.99/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.64/hr (-11.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Birmingham: $21.14/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 Birmingham Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$123,560+$5,710 (+4.8%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$78,680-$19,210 (-19.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$125,410-$8,710 (-6.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,660-$4,460 (-5.4%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$100,820-$1,570 (-1.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$140,230-$36,760 (-20.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$119,740-$32,020 (-21.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$94,330-$35,140 (-27.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$56,630-$3,760 (-6.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$153,930-$13,250 (-7.9%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,110$100,500-$25,610 (-20.3%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$102,170-$810 (-0.8%)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 Birmingham, AL Relocation FAQs

About $86,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.5 in Birmingham, AL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Birmingham, AL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Birmingham, AL Overview

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

About $86,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.5 in Birmingham, AL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Birmingham, AL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.6% lower in Birmingham, AL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.