2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Knoxville, TN

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 Knoxville, TN.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$90,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-9.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,224
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,224/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

Knoxville, TN

COL 113.6
Gross Parity Income $90,400
Federal Income Tax -$11,058
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,916
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,426
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,136
Discretionary Cash Flow $58,290

EPI family budgets put living costs 9.6% lower in Knoxville, TN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $90,400 in Knoxville. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,178 in Knoxville, $4,224 a year less. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,224 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,080 in Knoxville.

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) Knoxville (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,178-$352-23.0%
Food & Groceries$334$379+$45+13.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,055-$7-0.7%
Healthcare$467$457-$10-2.1%
Other Necessities$585$508-$77-13.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$352/mo (-23.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Knoxville: $1,178/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$342/mo (-18.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Knoxville: $1,475/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.66/hr (-9.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Knoxville: $25.11/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.32/hr (-9.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Knoxville: $21.46/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 Knoxville Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$104,590-$13,260 (-11.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$121,750-$12,370 (-9.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$77,240-$20,650 (-21.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$91,690-$10,700 (-10.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$75,380-$7,740 (-9.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$143,650-$33,340 (-18.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$66,960-$62,510 (-48.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$119,380-$32,380 (-21.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$58,640-$1,750 (-2.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$133,570-$33,610 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$131,040-$33,880 (-20.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$97,470-$9,130 (-8.6%)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 Knoxville, TN Relocation FAQs

About $90,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.6 in Knoxville, TN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Knoxville, TN to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Knoxville, TN Overview

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

About $90,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.6 in Knoxville, TN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Knoxville, TN cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 9.6% lower in Knoxville, TN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.