2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Great Falls, MT

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 Great Falls, MT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,289
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,360
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$2,071/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

Great Falls, MT

COL 101.5
Gross Parity Income $80,800
Federal Income Tax -$8,946
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,181
State Income Tax -$3,204
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $62,469
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,000
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,469

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.2% lower in Great Falls, MT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $80,800 in Great Falls. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,000 in Great Falls, $6,360 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,289 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Great Falls. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,071 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $46,510 in Great Falls.

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) Great Falls (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,000-$530-34.6%
Food & Groceries$334$344+$10+3.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,022-$40-3.8%
Healthcare$467$459-$8-1.7%
Other Necessities$585$387-$198-33.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,092+$357+20.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$530/mo (-34.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Great Falls: $1,000/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$509/mo (-28.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Great Falls: $1,308/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.33/hr (-19.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Great Falls: $22.44/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.30/hr (-9.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Great Falls: $21.48/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 Great Falls Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$88,780-$29,070 (-24.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$78,290-$19,600 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$83,580-$18,810 (-18.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$72,510-$10,610 (-12.8%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$133,670-$43,320 (-24.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$84,450-$45,020 (-34.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$111,270-$40,490 (-26.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$76,960+$16,570 (+27.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$131,420-$35,760 (-21.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$177,930+$13,010 (+7.9%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$95,690-$10,910 (-10.2%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$101,910-$1,070 (-1.0%)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 Great Falls, MT Relocation FAQs

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.5 in Great Falls, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Great Falls, MT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Great Falls, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Great Falls, MT Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Great Falls, MT: 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 Great Falls, MT to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.5 in Great Falls, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Great Falls, MT cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.2% lower in Great Falls, MT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.