2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$97,900
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-2.1%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$72
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$72/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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

COL 123.0
Gross Parity Income $97,900
Federal Income Tax -$12,708
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,489
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $77,703
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,432
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,271

EPI family budgets put living costs 2.1% lower in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $97,900 in Dallas. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,536 in Dallas, $72 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 $72 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $51,440 in Dallas.

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) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,536+$6+0.4%
Food & Groceries$334$342+$8+2.4%
Transportation$1,062$1,011-$51-4.8%
Healthcare$467$459-$8-1.7%
Other Necessities$585$582-$3-0.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$6/mo (0.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$10/mo (-0.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.57/hr (-2.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.86/hr (-3.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$111,010-$6,840 (-5.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$133,290-$830 (-0.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$101,420+$3,530 (+3.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,900-$3,490 (-3.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$82,620-$500 (-0.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$173,810-$3,180 (-1.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$144,290-$7,470 (-4.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$169,200+$2,020 (+1.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$127,360-$2,110 (-1.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$59,010-$1,380 (-2.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$102,860-$3,740 (-3.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$155,460-$9,460 (-5.7%)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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Relocation FAQs

About $97,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $97,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 2.1% lower in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.