2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Lima, OH

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 Lima, OH.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,548
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,067/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

Lima, OH

COL 93.2
Gross Parity Income $74,300
Federal Income Tax -$7,516
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,684
State Income Tax -$1,268
Local / City Tax -$1,115
Net Annual Take-Home $58,718
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,812
Discretionary Cash Flow $47,906

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.7% lower in Lima, OH than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,300 in Lima. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $901 in Lima, $7,548 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,481 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Lima. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,067 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,170 in Lima.

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) Lima (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$901-$629-41.1%
Food & Groceries$334$310-$24-7.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,050-$12-1.1%
Healthcare$467$480+$13+2.8%
Other Necessities$585$341-$244-41.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$629/mo (-41.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Lima: $901/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$638/mo (-35.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Lima: $1,179/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$7.15/hr (-25.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Lima: $20.62/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.99/hr (-21.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Lima: $18.79/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 Lima Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$80,720-$37,130 (-31.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$114,600-$19,520 (-14.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,440-$16,450 (-16.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$81,670-$20,720 (-20.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$72,980-$10,140 (-12.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$140,030-$36,960 (-20.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$114,100-$37,660 (-24.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$75,600+$15,210 (+25.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$125,380-$41,800 (-25.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$122,260-$42,660 (-25.9%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$81,530-$25,070 (-23.5%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$91,350-$11,630 (-11.3%)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 Lima, OH Relocation FAQs

About $74,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.2 in Lima, OH, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

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

About $74,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.2 in Lima, OH, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.7% lower in Lima, OH than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.