2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Midland, 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 Midland, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$103,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+3.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,464
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,464/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

Midland, TX

COL 129.3
Gross Parity Income $103,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,830
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,880
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $81,291
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,896
Discretionary Cash Flow $64,395

EPI family budgets put living costs 3.0% higher in Midland, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $103,000 in Midland. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,408 in Midland, $1,464 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 $1,464 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $54,480 in Midland.

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) Midland (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,408-$122-8.0%
Food & Groceries$334$321-$13-3.9%
Transportation$1,062$1,144+$82+7.7%
Healthcare$467$461-$6-1.3%
Other Necessities$585$591+$6+1.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$122/mo (-8.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Midland: $1,408/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$23/mo (-1.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Midland: $1,794/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.82/hr (3.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Midland: $28.59/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.44/hr (-6.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Midland: $22.34/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 Midland Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$132,420+$14,570 (+12.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$126,190-$7,930 (-5.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$82,120-$15,770 (-16.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,170-$4,220 (-4.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$100,890+$17,770 (+21.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$174,040-$2,950 (-1.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$139,380-$12,380 (-8.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$97,470-$32,000 (-24.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$59,530-$860 (-1.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$172,520+$5,340 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$149,510-$15,410 (-9.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$104,260-$2,340 (-2.2%)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 Midland, TX Relocation FAQs

About $103,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 129.3 in Midland, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Midland, 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 Midland, TX to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $103,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 129.3 in Midland, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 3.0% higher in Midland, TX than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.