2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

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, MO.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,852
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,182/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, MO

COL 93.7
Gross Parity Income $74,600
Federal Income Tax -$7,582
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,707
State Income Tax -$2,515
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $58,796
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,508
Discretionary Cash Flow $47,288

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.4% lower in Columbia, MO than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,600 in Columbia. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $959 in Columbia, $6,852 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 Columbia. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,182 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,260 in Columbia.

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 (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$959-$571-37.3%
Food & Groceries$334$368+$34+10.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,024-$38-3.6%
Healthcare$467$520+$53+11.3%
Other Necessities$585$329-$256-43.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,041+$306+17.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$571/mo (-37.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Columbia: $959/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$741/mo (-40.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Columbia: $1,076/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$7.05/hr (-25.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Columbia: $20.72/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.21/hr (-17.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Columbia: $19.57/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 Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$75,410-$42,440 (-36.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$101,020-$33,100 (-24.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$84,330-$13,560 (-13.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$80,870-$21,520 (-21.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$73,070-$10,050 (-12.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$129,700-$47,290 (-26.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$80,330-$49,140 (-38.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$100,800-$50,960 (-33.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$124,120-$43,060 (-25.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$61,500+$1,110 (+1.8%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$119,520-$45,400 (-27.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$84,870-$21,730 (-20.4%)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 Columbia, MO Relocation FAQs

About $74,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.7 in Columbia, MO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Columbia, MO: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Columbia, MO to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $74,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.7 in Columbia, MO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.4% lower in Columbia, MO than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.