2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

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, SC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$87,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,244
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,848
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$604/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, SC

COL 109.2
Gross Parity Income $87,000
Federal Income Tax -$10,310
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,656
State Income Tax -$3,453
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $66,582
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,512
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,070

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.0% lower in Columbia, SC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $87,000 in Columbia. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,126 in Columbia, $4,848 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,244 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Columbia. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $604 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $46,430 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$1,126-$404-26.4%
Food & Groceries$334$348+$14+4.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,060-$2-0.2%
Healthcare$467$447-$20-4.3%
Other Necessities$585$438-$147-25.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,089+$354+20.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$404/mo (-26.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Columbia: $1,126/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$591/mo (-32.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Columbia: $1,226/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.61/hr (-13.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Columbia: $24.16/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.66/hr (-11.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Columbia: $21.12/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$103,950-$13,900 (-11.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$123,380-$10,740 (-8.0%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,920-$15,970 (-16.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$85,260-$17,130 (-16.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$69,210-$13,910 (-16.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$141,570-$35,420 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$128,650-$23,110 (-15.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$91,920-$37,550 (-29.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$93,250-$13,350 (-12.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$124,790-$42,390 (-25.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$60,390$0 (0.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$136,930-$27,990 (-17.0%)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, SC Relocation FAQs

About $87,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 109.2 in Columbia, SC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $87,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 109.2 in Columbia, SC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.0% lower in Columbia, SC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.