2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Crestview Metro, FL

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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$90,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-9.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$2,112
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,112/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

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL

COL 113.1
Gross Parity Income $90,100
Federal Income Tax -$10,992
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,893
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,215
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$20,472
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,743

EPI family budgets put living costs 9.9% lower in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $90,100 in Crestview. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,706 in Crestview, $2,112 a year more. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,112 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,510 in Crestview.

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) Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,706+$176+11.5%
Food & Groceries$334$370+$36+10.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,048-$14-1.3%
Healthcare$467$511+$44+9.4%
Other Necessities$585$493-$92-15.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$176/mo (11.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin: $1,706/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$91/mo (5.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin: $1,908/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.76/hr (-9.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin: $25.01/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.56/hr (-6.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin: $22.22/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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$100,070-$17,780 (-15.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$130,640-$3,480 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,260-$16,630 (-17.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$100,180-$2,210 (-2.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$79,510-$3,610 (-4.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$161,140-$15,850 (-9.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$103,130-$26,340 (-20.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$125,570-$26,190 (-17.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$57,200-$3,190 (-5.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$145,810-$21,370 (-12.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$105,880-$720 (-0.7%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$155,080-$9,840 (-6.0%)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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Relocation FAQs

About $90,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.1 in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Crestview Metro, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Crestview Metro, FL compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $90,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.1 in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 9.9% lower in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.