2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Columbia County, WI

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 Columbia County, WI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$78,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-21.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,428
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,944
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,516/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

Columbia County, WI

COL 98.3
Gross Parity Income $78,300
Federal Income Tax -$8,396
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,990
State Income Tax -$3,139
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $60,775
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,416
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,359

EPI family budgets put living costs 21.7% lower in Columbia County, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $78,300 in Columbia County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $868 in Columbia County, $7,944 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,428 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Columbia County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,516 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $58,080 in Columbia County (BLS figure for the Madison, WI 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) Columbia County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$868-$662-43.3%
Food & Groceries$334$350+$16+4.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,169+$107+10.1%
Healthcare$467$451-$16-3.4%
Other Necessities$585$340-$245-41.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,104+$369+21.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$662/mo (-43.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Columbia County: $868/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$681/mo (-37.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Columbia County: $1,136/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.03/hr (-21.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Columbia County: $21.74/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.64/hr (-11.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Columbia County: $21.14/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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, WI Relocation FAQs

About $78,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 98.3 in Columbia County, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Columbia County, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Columbia County, WI Overview

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

About $78,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 98.3 in Columbia County, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Columbia County, WI cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 21.7% lower in Columbia County, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.