2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS

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 Kansas City, MO-KS.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$87,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-12.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,968
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,702/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

Kansas City, MO-KS

COL 109.4
Gross Parity Income $87,100
Federal Income Tax -$10,332
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,663
State Income Tax -$3,084
Local / City Tax -$871
Net Annual Take-Home $66,150
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,392
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,758

EPI family budgets put living costs 12.9% lower in Kansas City, MO-KS than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $87,100 in Kansas City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,366 in Kansas City, $1,968 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,670 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Kansas City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,702 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $50,820 in Kansas City.

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) Kansas City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,366-$164-10.7%
Food & Groceries$334$371+$37+11.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,032-$30-2.8%
Healthcare$467$458-$9-1.9%
Other Necessities$585$449-$136-23.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,124+$389+22.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$164/mo (-10.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Kansas City: $1,366/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$271/mo (-14.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Kansas City: $1,546/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.58/hr (-12.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Kansas City: $24.19/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.22/hr (-9.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Kansas City: $21.56/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 Kansas City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$90,490-$27,360 (-23.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$83,040-$14,850 (-15.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$124,990-$9,130 (-6.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$101,050-$1,340 (-1.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$80,040-$3,080 (-3.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$168,050-$8,940 (-5.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$105,470-$24,000 (-18.5%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$76,860+$16,470 (+27.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$162,490-$4,690 (-2.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$98,430-$8,170 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$159,990+$8,230 (+5.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$139,240-$25,680 (-15.6%)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 Kansas City, MO-KS Relocation FAQs

About $87,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 109.4 in Kansas City, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Kansas City, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS: 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 Kansas City, MO-KS to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $87,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 109.4 in Kansas City, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Kansas City, MO-KS cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 12.9% lower in Kansas City, MO-KS than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.