2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Little Rock Metro, AR

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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$81,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,687
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,732
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,045/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

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

COL 101.7
Gross Parity Income $81,000
Federal Income Tax -$8,990
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,197
State Income Tax -$2,624
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $63,190
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,562

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.0% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $81,000 in Little Rock. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $969 in Little Rock, $6,732 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,687 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Little Rock. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,045 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,790 in Little Rock.

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) Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$969-$561-36.7%
Food & Groceries$334$343+$9+2.7%
Transportation$1,062$1,052-$10-0.9%
Healthcare$467$481+$14+3.0%
Other Necessities$585$382-$203-34.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,042+$307+17.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$561/mo (-36.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $969/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$696/mo (-38.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $1,121/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.29/hr (-19.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $22.48/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.45/hr (-18.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $19.33/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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$76,080-$41,770 (-35.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$104,070-$30,050 (-22.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,070-$16,820 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$73,480-$28,910 (-28.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$65,810-$17,310 (-20.8%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$129,700-$47,290 (-26.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$102,300-$49,460 (-32.6%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$88,610-$40,860 (-31.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$119,360-$47,820 (-28.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$48,200-$12,190 (-20.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$75,750-$30,850 (-28.9%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,110$101,280-$24,830 (-19.7%)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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Relocation FAQs

About $81,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Little Rock Metro, AR Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Little Rock Metro, AR 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $81,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.0% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.