2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$78,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-21.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$8,364
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,694/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

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

COL 98.5
Gross Parity Income $78,400
Federal Income Tax -$8,418
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,998
State Income Tax -$2,688
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $61,296
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,996
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,300

EPI family budgets put living costs 21.6% lower in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $78,400 in Cape Girardeau. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $833 in Cape Girardeau, $8,364 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Cape Girardeau. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,694 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $44,470 in Cape Girardeau.

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) Cape Girardeau (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$833-$697-45.6%
Food & Groceries$334$330-$4-1.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,105+$43+4.0%
Healthcare$467$554+$87+18.6%
Other Necessities$585$334-$251-42.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,041+$306+17.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$697/mo (-45.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Cape Girardeau: $833/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$805/mo (-44.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Cape Girardeau: $1,012/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.99/hr (-21.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Cape Girardeau: $21.78/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.51/hr (-19.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Cape Girardeau: $19.27/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 Cape Girardeau Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$74,790-$43,060 (-36.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$100,220-$33,900 (-25.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$82,640-$15,250 (-15.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$78,150-$24,240 (-23.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$64,010-$19,110 (-23.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$128,230-$48,760 (-27.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$77,500-$51,970 (-40.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$98,810-$52,950 (-34.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$59,720-$670 (-1.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$139,690-$27,490 (-16.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$94,750-$70,170 (-42.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$77,990-$28,610 (-26.8%)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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Relocation FAQs

About $78,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 98.5 in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Cape Girardeau, MO-IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Cape Girardeau, MO-IL: 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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $78,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 98.5 in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Cape Girardeau, MO-IL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 21.6% lower in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.