2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fayetteville, NC

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 Fayetteville, NC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-14.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$2,352
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,129/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

Fayetteville, NC

COL 108.0
Gross Parity Income $86,000
Federal Income Tax -$10,090
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,579
State Income Tax -$2,923
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $66,408
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,008
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,400

EPI family budgets put living costs 14.0% lower in Fayetteville, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,000 in Fayetteville. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,334 in Fayetteville, $2,352 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,481 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Fayetteville. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,129 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,620 in Fayetteville.

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) Fayetteville (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,334-$196-12.8%
Food & Groceries$334$339+$5+1.5%
Transportation$1,062$984-$78-7.3%
Healthcare$467$475+$8+1.7%
Other Necessities$585$440-$145-24.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$196/mo (-12.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Fayetteville: $1,334/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$341/mo (-18.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Fayetteville: $1,476/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.89/hr (-14.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Fayetteville: $23.88/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.14/hr (-17.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Fayetteville: $19.64/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 Fayetteville Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$96,970-$20,880 (-17.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$122,900-$11,220 (-8.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$83,060-$14,830 (-15.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$82,680-$19,710 (-19.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,560-$4,560 (-5.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$151,490-$25,500 (-14.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$101,800-$27,670 (-21.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$109,870-$41,890 (-27.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$57,690-$2,700 (-4.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$138,040-$29,140 (-17.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$140,730-$24,190 (-14.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$101,800-$4,800 (-4.5%)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 Fayetteville, NC Relocation FAQs

About $86,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.0 in Fayetteville, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Fayetteville, NC to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fayetteville, NC Overview

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

About $86,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.0 in Fayetteville, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Fayetteville, NC cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 14.0% lower in Fayetteville, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.