2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Boise City, ID

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 Boise City, ID.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$96,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-3.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,192
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$2,820
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,372/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

Boise City, ID

COL 121.3
Gross Parity Income $96,600
Federal Income Tax -$12,422
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,390
State Income Tax -$4,012
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,777
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,540
Discretionary Cash Flow $57,237

EPI family budgets put living costs 3.4% lower in Boise City, ID than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $96,600 in Boise City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,295 in Boise City, $2,820 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,192 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Boise City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,372 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,100 in Boise 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) Boise City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,295-$235-15.4%
Food & Groceries$334$394+$60+18.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,075+$13+1.2%
Healthcare$467$388-$79-16.9%
Other Necessities$585$526-$59-10.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,084+$349+20.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$235/mo (-15.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Boise City: $1,295/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$277/mo (-15.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Boise City: $1,540/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.95/hr (-3.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Boise City: $26.82/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.15/hr (0.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Boise City: $23.93/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 Boise City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$83,680-$34,170 (-29.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$131,590-$2,530 (-1.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$97,880-$10 (-0.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,580-$3,810 (-3.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$76,700-$6,420 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$161,990-$15,000 (-8.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$141,440-$10,320 (-6.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$101,330-$28,140 (-21.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$61,610+$1,220 (+2.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$131,130-$36,050 (-21.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$86,390-$20,210 (-19.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$159,930-$4,990 (-3.0%)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 Boise City, ID Relocation FAQs

About $96,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 121.3 in Boise City, ID, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Boise City, ID to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Boise City, ID Overview

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

About $96,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 121.3 in Boise City, ID, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Boise City, ID cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 3.4% lower in Boise City, ID than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.