2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Madison, WI

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 Madison, WI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,428
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,860
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,568/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

Madison, WI

COL 108.1
Gross Parity Income $86,100
Federal Income Tax -$10,112
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,587
State Income Tax -$3,602
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,799
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,500
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,299

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.9% lower in Madison, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,100 in Madison. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,375 in Madison, $1,860 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,428 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Madison. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,568 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $58,080 in Madison.

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) Madison (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,375-$155-10.1%
Food & Groceries$334$387+$53+15.9%
Transportation$1,062$1,027-$35-3.3%
Healthcare$467$386-$81-17.3%
Other Necessities$585$455-$130-22.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,104+$369+21.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$155/mo (-10.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Madison: $1,375/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$252/mo (-13.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Madison: $1,565/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.86/hr (-13.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Madison: $23.91/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.51/hr (-2.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Madison: $23.27/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 Madison Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$126,620+$8,770 (+7.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$130,630-$3,490 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$101,190+$3,300 (+3.4%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,990-$3,400 (-3.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$81,130-$1,990 (-2.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$168,900-$8,090 (-4.6%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$97,950-$31,520 (-24.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$146,380-$5,380 (-3.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$97,170-$9,430 (-8.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$148,970-$18,210 (-10.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$78,430+$18,040 (+29.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$138,270-$26,650 (-16.2%)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 Madison, WI Relocation FAQs

About $86,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.1 in Madison, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Madison, WI: 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 Madison, WI to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $86,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.1 in Madison, WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.9% lower in Madison, WI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.