2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Minot, ND

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 Minot, ND.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$669
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,800
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$7,131/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

Minot, ND

COL 93.4
Gross Parity Income $74,400
Federal Income Tax -$7,538
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,692
State Income Tax -$170
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $61,000
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,560
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,440

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.6% lower in Minot, ND than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,400 in Minot. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $880 in Minot, $7,800 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $669 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Minot. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $7,131 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $48,940 in Minot.

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) Minot (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$880-$650-42.5%
Food & Groceries$334$341+$7+2.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,048-$14-1.3%
Healthcare$467$503+$36+7.7%
Other Necessities$585$330-$255-43.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,791+$56+3.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$650/mo (-42.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Minot: $880/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$707/mo (-38.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Minot: $1,110/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$8.57/hr (-30.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Minot: $19.20/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$13.62/hr (57.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Minot: $37.40/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 Minot Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$93,120-$24,730 (-21.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$108,470-$25,650 (-19.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$80,490-$17,400 (-17.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$86,990-$15,400 (-15.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$73,510-$9,610 (-11.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$138,290-$38,700 (-21.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$120,070-$31,690 (-20.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$59,800-$590 (-1.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$130,770-$36,410 (-21.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$84,320-$22,280 (-20.9%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$102,430-$550 (-0.5%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$62,400-$410 (-0.7%)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 Minot, ND Relocation FAQs

About $74,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.4 in Minot, ND, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $74,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.4 in Minot, ND, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.6% lower in Minot, ND than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.