2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Colorado Springs, CO

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 Colorado Springs, CO.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$90,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-9.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,692
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,800
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,892/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

Colorado Springs, CO

COL 114.1
Gross Parity Income $90,800
Federal Income Tax -$11,146
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,946
State Income Tax -$3,287
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $69,421
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,560
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,861

EPI family budgets put living costs 9.2% lower in Colorado Springs, CO than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $90,800 in Colorado Springs. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,380 in Colorado Springs, $1,800 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,692 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Colorado Springs. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,892 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $52,710 in Colorado Springs.

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) Colorado Springs (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,380-$150-9.8%
Food & Groceries$334$364+$30+9.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,015-$47-4.4%
Healthcare$467$439-$28-6.0%
Other Necessities$585$491-$94-16.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,043+$308+17.8%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$150/mo (-9.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Colorado Springs: $1,380/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$196/mo (-10.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Colorado Springs: $1,621/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.55/hr (-9.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Colorado Springs: $25.22/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.47/hr (6.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Colorado Springs: $25.25/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 Colorado Springs Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$120,770+$2,920 (+2.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$134,280+$160 (+0.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$96,140-$1,750 (-1.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$111,740+$9,350 (+9.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$85,000+$1,880 (+2.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$192,400+$15,410 (+8.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$110,090-$19,380 (-15.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$177,780+$26,020 (+17.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$59,210-$1,180 (-2.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$172,680+$5,500 (+3.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$117,850+$11,250 (+10.6%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$172,210+$7,290 (+4.4%)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 Colorado Springs, CO Relocation FAQs

About $90,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 114.1 in Colorado Springs, CO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Colorado Springs, CO: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Colorado Springs, CO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Colorado Springs, CO Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Colorado Springs, CO: 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 Colorado Springs, CO to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $90,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 114.1 in Colorado Springs, CO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Colorado Springs, CO cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 9.2% lower in Colorado Springs, CO than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.