2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Lansing-East Lansing, MI

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 Lansing-East Lansing, MI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$76,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-23.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,993
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$5,712
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$719/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

Lansing-East Lansing, MI

COL 95.8
Gross Parity Income $76,300
Federal Income Tax -$7,956
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,837
State Income Tax -$2,992
Local / City Tax -$757
Net Annual Take-Home $58,758
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,648
Discretionary Cash Flow $46,110

EPI family budgets put living costs 23.7% lower in Lansing-East Lansing, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $76,300 in Lansing. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,054 in Lansing, $5,712 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,993 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Lansing. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $719 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $52,800 in Lansing.

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) Lansing-East Lansing (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,054-$476-31.1%
Food & Groceries$334$346+$12+3.6%
Transportation$1,062$1,018-$44-4.1%
Healthcare$467$407-$60-12.8%
Other Necessities$585$378-$207-35.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,151+$416+24.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$476/mo (-31.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Lansing-East Lansing: $1,054/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$494/mo (-27.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Lansing-East Lansing: $1,323/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.59/hr (-23.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Lansing-East Lansing: $21.18/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.79/hr (-20.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Lansing-East Lansing: $18.99/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 Lansing-East Lansing Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$119,140+$1,290 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$97,120-$37,000 (-27.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$84,320-$13,570 (-13.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$97,050-$5,340 (-5.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$79,210-$3,910 (-4.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$134,440-$42,550 (-24.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$90,250-$39,220 (-30.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$124,630-$27,130 (-17.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$80,480+$20,090 (+33.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$132,590-$34,590 (-20.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$80,580-$26,020 (-24.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$126,890-$38,030 (-23.1%)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 Lansing-East Lansing, MI Relocation FAQs

About $76,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 95.8 in Lansing-East Lansing, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Lansing-East Lansing, MI: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Lansing-East Lansing, MI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Lansing-East Lansing, MI Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Lansing-East Lansing, MI: 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 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 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 Lansing-East Lansing, MI to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $76,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 95.8 in Lansing-East Lansing, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Lansing-East Lansing, MI cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 23.7% lower in Lansing-East Lansing, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.