2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Butler County, KY

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 Butler County, KY.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,382
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$10,020
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$6,638/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

Butler County, KY

COL 94.0
Gross Parity Income $74,800
Federal Income Tax -$7,626
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,722
State Income Tax -$2,500
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $58,951
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$8,340
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,611

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.2% lower in Butler County, KY than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,800 in Butler County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $695 in Butler County, $10,020 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,382 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Butler County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $6,638 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,040 in Butler County (BLS figure for the Bowling Green, KY metro area).

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) Butler County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$695-$835-54.6%
Food & Groceries$334$290-$44-13.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,174+$112+10.5%
Healthcare$467$478+$11+2.4%
Other Necessities$585$291-$294-50.3%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,017+$282+16.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$835/mo (-54.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Butler County: $695/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$908/mo (-50.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Butler County: $909/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.99/hr (-25.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Butler County: $20.78/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.37/hr (-22.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Butler County: $18.41/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 Butler County Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

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 Butler County, KY Relocation FAQs

About $74,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 94.0 in Butler County, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Butler County, KY: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Butler County, KY to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Butler County, KY Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Butler County, KY: 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 Butler County, KY to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $74,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 94.0 in Butler County, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Butler County, KY cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.2% lower in Butler County, KY than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.