2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Eau Claire, WI

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 Eau Claire, WI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$83,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-16.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,428
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,156
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,728/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

Eau Claire, WI

COL 104.5
Gross Parity Income $83,300
Federal Income Tax -$9,496
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,372
State Income Tax -$3,436
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $63,995
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,204
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,791

EPI family budgets put living costs 16.7% lower in Eau Claire, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $83,300 in Eau Claire. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,017 in Eau Claire, $6,156 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,428 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Eau Claire. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,728 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $48,100 in Eau Claire.

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) Eau Claire (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,017-$513-33.5%
Food & Groceries$334$359+$25+7.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,101+$39+3.7%
Healthcare$467$572+$105+22.5%
Other Necessities$585$369-$216-36.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,104+$369+21.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$513/mo (-33.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Eau Claire: $1,017/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$558/mo (-30.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Eau Claire: $1,259/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$4.65/hr (-16.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Eau Claire: $23.12/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.92/hr (-3.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Eau Claire: $22.86/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 Eau Claire Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$103,330-$14,520 (-12.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$104,490-$29,630 (-22.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$93,410-$4,480 (-4.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$95,840-$6,550 (-6.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$76,380-$6,740 (-8.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$155,460-$21,530 (-12.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$80,540-$48,930 (-37.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$127,570-$24,190 (-15.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$75,380+$14,990 (+24.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$143,970-$23,210 (-13.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$127,330-$37,590 (-22.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$99,090-$7,510 (-7.0%)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 Eau Claire, WI Relocation FAQs

About $83,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 104.5 in Eau Claire, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Eau Claire, WI: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Eau Claire, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Eau Claire, WI Overview

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

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

About $83,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 104.5 in Eau Claire, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Eau Claire, WI cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 16.7% lower in Eau Claire, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.