2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fort Smith, AR-OK

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 Fort Smith, AR-OK.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-26.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,687
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$9,384
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$5,697/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

Fort Smith, AR-OK

COL 92.9
Gross Parity Income $74,000
Federal Income Tax -$7,450
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,661
State Income Tax -$2,351
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $58,538
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$8,976
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,562

EPI family budgets put living costs 26.0% lower in Fort Smith, AR-OK than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,000 in Fort Smith. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $748 in Fort Smith, $9,384 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,687 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Fort Smith. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,697 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $39,560 in Fort Smith.

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) Fort Smith (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$748-$782-51.1%
Food & Groceries$334$319-$15-4.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,080+$18+1.7%
Healthcare$467$489+$22+4.7%
Other Necessities$585$313-$272-46.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,042+$307+17.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$782/mo (-51.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Fort Smith: $748/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$838/mo (-46.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Fort Smith: $979/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$7.23/hr (-26.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Fort Smith: $20.54/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.85/hr (-24.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Fort Smith: $17.93/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 Fort Smith Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$70,330-$47,520 (-40.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$114,140-$19,980 (-14.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$79,870-$18,020 (-18.4%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$74,990-$27,400 (-26.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$62,990-$20,130 (-24.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$114,760-$62,230 (-35.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$96,920-$32,550 (-25.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$99,110-$52,650 (-34.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$52,500-$7,890 (-13.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$104,990-$62,190 (-37.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$93,990-$70,930 (-43.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$65,170-$41,430 (-38.9%)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 Fort Smith, AR-OK Relocation FAQs

About $74,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 92.9 in Fort Smith, AR-OK, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fort Smith, AR-OK: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Fort Smith, AR-OK to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fort Smith, AR-OK Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fort Smith, AR-OK: 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 Fort Smith, AR-OK to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $74,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 92.9 in Fort Smith, AR-OK, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Fort Smith, AR-OK cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 26.0% lower in Fort Smith, AR-OK than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.