2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Hagerstown Metro, MD-WV

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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$76,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-23.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$7,143
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,576
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$567/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

Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV

COL 96.0
Gross Parity Income $76,400
Federal Income Tax -$7,978
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,845
State Income Tax -$3,265
Local / City Tax -$2,061
Net Annual Take-Home $57,251
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,784
Discretionary Cash Flow $45,467

EPI family budgets put living costs 23.6% lower in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $76,400 in Hagerstown. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $982 in Hagerstown, $6,576 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $7,143 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Hagerstown. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $567 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,440 in Hagerstown.

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) Hagerstown-Martinsburg (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$982-$548-35.8%
Food & Groceries$334$342+$8+2.4%
Transportation$1,062$1,044-$18-1.7%
Healthcare$467$358-$109-23.3%
Other Necessities$585$371-$214-36.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,330+$595+34.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$548/mo (-35.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Hagerstown-Martinsburg: $982/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$533/mo (-29.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Hagerstown-Martinsburg: $1,284/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.54/hr (-23.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Hagerstown-Martinsburg: $21.23/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$3.78/hr (-15.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Hagerstown-Martinsburg: $20.00/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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$92,420-$25,430 (-21.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$122,830-$11,290 (-8.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$92,770-$5,120 (-5.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$88,600-$13,790 (-13.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$75,250-$7,870 (-9.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$145,790-$31,200 (-17.6%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$148,700+$19,230 (+14.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$117,050-$34,710 (-22.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$62,310+$1,920 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$133,590-$33,590 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$123,210-$41,710 (-25.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$104,330-$2,270 (-2.1%)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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Relocation FAQs

About $76,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 96.0 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Hagerstown Metro, MD-WV Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Hagerstown Metro, MD-WV 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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $76,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 96.0 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 23.6% lower in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.