2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Burlington, NC

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 Burlington, NC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,504
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$23/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

Burlington, NC

COL 100.5
Gross Parity Income $80,000
Federal Income Tax -$8,770
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,120
State Income Tax -$2,683
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $62,427
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,856
Discretionary Cash Flow $47,571

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.0% lower in Burlington, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $80,000 in Burlington. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,238 in Burlington, $3,504 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,481 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Burlington. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $23 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $44,010 in Burlington.

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) Burlington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,238-$292-19.1%
Food & Groceries$334$350+$16+4.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,057-$5-0.5%
Healthcare$467$446-$21-4.5%
Other Necessities$585$379-$206-35.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$292/mo (-19.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Burlington: $1,238/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$469/mo (-25.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Burlington: $1,348/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.54/hr (-19.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Burlington: $22.23/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.38/hr (-18.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Burlington: $19.40/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 Burlington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$94,250-$23,600 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$127,570-$6,550 (-4.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$84,180-$13,710 (-14.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$83,370-$19,020 (-18.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$80,320-$2,800 (-3.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$165,490-$11,500 (-6.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$84,030-$45,440 (-35.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$129,740-$22,020 (-14.5%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$51,400-$8,990 (-14.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$134,760-$32,420 (-19.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$164,770-$150 (-0.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$96,290-$10,310 (-9.7%)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 Burlington, NC Relocation FAQs

About $80,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.5 in Burlington, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Burlington, NC to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Burlington, NC Overview

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

About $80,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.5 in Burlington, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Burlington, NC cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.0% lower in Burlington, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.