2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Brownsville Metro, TX

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 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$65,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-34.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,752
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$7,752/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

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX

COL 82.5
Gross Parity Income $65,700
Federal Income Tax -$5,704
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,026
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $54,970
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,608
Discretionary Cash Flow $44,362

EPI family budgets put living costs 34.3% lower in Brownsville-Harlingen, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $65,700 in Brownsville. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $884 in Brownsville, $7,752 a year less. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $7,752 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $36,490 in Brownsville.

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) Brownsville-Harlingen (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$884-$646-42.2%
Food & Groceries$334$281-$53-15.9%
Transportation$1,062$1,075+$13+1.2%
Healthcare$467$383-$84-18.0%
Other Necessities$585$294-$291-49.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$646/mo (-42.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Brownsville-Harlingen: $884/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$775/mo (-42.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Brownsville-Harlingen: $1,042/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$9.52/hr (-34.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Brownsville-Harlingen: $18.25/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$7.35/hr (-30.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Brownsville-Harlingen: $16.43/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 Brownsville-Harlingen Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$75,350-$42,500 (-36.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$106,990-$27,130 (-20.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,090-$16,800 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$73,050-$29,340 (-28.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$66,440-$16,680 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$137,880-$39,110 (-22.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$95,550-$56,210 (-37.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$94,380-$35,090 (-27.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$46,080-$14,310 (-23.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$129,820-$37,360 (-22.3%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$113,220-$51,700 (-31.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$86,750-$19,850 (-18.6%)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 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Relocation FAQs

About $65,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 82.5 in Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Brownsville-Harlingen, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Brownsville Metro, TX Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Brownsville-Harlingen, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Brownsville Metro, TX compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Brownsville-Harlingen, TX to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $65,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 82.5 in Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Brownsville-Harlingen, TX cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 34.3% lower in Brownsville-Harlingen, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.