2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Longview-Kelso, WA

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 Longview-Kelso, WA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$79,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,872
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,872/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

Longview-Kelso, WA

COL 100.1
Gross Parity Income $79,700
Federal Income Tax -$8,704
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,097
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $64,899
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,488
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,411

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.3% lower in Longview-Kelso, WA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $79,700 in Longview. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,124 in Longview, $4,872 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 $4,872 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $57,420 in Longview.

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) Longview-Kelso (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,124-$406-26.5%
Food & Groceries$334$361+$27+8.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,092+$30+2.8%
Healthcare$467$413-$54-11.6%
Other Necessities$585$411-$174-29.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$406/mo (-26.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Longview-Kelso: $1,124/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$419/mo (-23.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Longview-Kelso: $1,398/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.64/hr (-20.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Longview-Kelso: $22.13/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.52/hr (-6.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Longview-Kelso: $22.26/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 Longview-Kelso Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$125,600+$7,750 (+6.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$130,000-$4,120 (-3.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$101,440-$950 (-0.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$93,130+$10,010 (+12.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$171,190-$5,800 (-3.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$172,930+$21,170 (+13.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$96,860+$36,470 (+60.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$158,880-$8,300 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$121,030-$43,890 (-26.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$98,620-$7,980 (-7.5%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$154,300+$51,320 (+49.8%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$80,710+$17,900 (+28.5%)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 Longview-Kelso, WA Relocation FAQs

About $79,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.1 in Longview-Kelso, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Longview-Kelso, WA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Longview-Kelso, WA Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Longview-Kelso, WA: 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 Longview-Kelso, WA to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $79,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.1 in Longview-Kelso, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Longview-Kelso, WA cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.3% lower in Longview-Kelso, WA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.