2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Columbus, IN

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 Columbus, IN.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,653
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,048
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,605/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

Columbus, IN

COL 108.4
Gross Parity Income $86,400
Federal Income Tax -$10,178
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,610
State Income Tax -$2,519
Local / City Tax -$1,495
Net Annual Take-Home $65,599
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,312
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,287

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.6% lower in Columbus, IN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,400 in Columbus. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,276 in Columbus, $3,048 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,653 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Columbus. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,605 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $48,470 in Columbus.

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) Columbus (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,276-$254-16.6%
Food & Groceries$334$324-$10-3.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,098+$36+3.4%
Healthcare$467$405-$62-13.3%
Other Necessities$585$443-$142-24.3%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,123+$388+22.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$254/mo (-16.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Columbus: $1,276/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$324/mo (-17.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Columbus: $1,493/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.79/hr (-13.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Columbus: $23.98/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.93/hr (-12.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Columbus: $20.85/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 Columbus Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$112,760-$5,090 (-4.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$104,880-$29,240 (-21.8%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$77,030-$20,860 (-21.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$91,510-$10,880 (-10.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,740-$4,380 (-5.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$139,430-$37,560 (-21.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$83,830-$45,640 (-35.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$120,730-$31,030 (-20.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$79,670+$19,280 (+31.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$143,590-$23,590 (-14.1%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$166,610+$1,690 (+1.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$111,090+$4,490 (+4.2%)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 Columbus, IN Relocation FAQs

About $86,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.4 in Columbus, IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Columbus, IN to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Columbus, IN Overview

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

About $86,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.4 in Columbus, IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Columbus, IN cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.6% lower in Columbus, IN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.