2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Laredo, TX

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 Laredo, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,900
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$6,900/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

Laredo, TX

COL 101.1
Gross Parity Income $80,500
Federal Income Tax -$8,880
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,158
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,462
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,460
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,002

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.5% lower in Laredo, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $80,500 in Laredo. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $955 in Laredo, $6,900 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 $6,900 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $37,250 in Laredo.

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) Laredo (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$955-$575-37.6%
Food & Groceries$334$300-$34-10.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,075+$13+1.2%
Healthcare$467$554+$87+18.6%
Other Necessities$585$389-$196-33.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$575/mo (-37.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Laredo: $955/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$660/mo (-36.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Laredo: $1,157/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.41/hr (-19.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Laredo: $22.36/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.03/hr (-21.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Laredo: $18.75/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 Laredo Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$78,640-$39,210 (-33.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$111,450-$22,670 (-16.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$77,050-$20,840 (-21.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$72,530-$29,860 (-29.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$63,410-$19,710 (-23.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$127,870-$49,120 (-27.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$84,960-$44,510 (-34.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$92,400-$59,360 (-39.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$46,140-$14,250 (-23.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$121,140-$46,040 (-27.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$112,680-$52,240 (-31.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$81,280-$25,320 (-23.8%)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 Laredo, TX Relocation FAQs

About $80,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.1 in Laredo, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Laredo, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Laredo, TX to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $80,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.1 in Laredo, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.5% lower in Laredo, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.