2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Omaha, NE-IA

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 Omaha, NE-IA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,732
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$62/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

Omaha, NE-IA

COL 108.3
Gross Parity Income $86,300
Federal Income Tax -$10,156
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,602
State Income Tax -$3,047
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $66,495
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,867

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.7% lower in Omaha, NE-IA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,300 in Omaha. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,219 in Omaha, $3,732 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Omaha. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $62 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,660 in Omaha.

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) Omaha (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,219-$311-20.3%
Food & Groceries$334$359+$25+7.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,069+$7+0.7%
Healthcare$467$513+$46+9.9%
Other Necessities$585$419-$166-28.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,041+$306+17.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$311/mo (-20.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Omaha: $1,219/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$367/mo (-20.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Omaha: $1,450/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.81/hr (-13.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Omaha: $23.96/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.84/hr (-7.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Omaha: $21.94/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 Omaha Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$90,620-$27,230 (-23.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$125,220-$8,900 (-6.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$84,600-$13,290 (-13.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$82,460-$19,930 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$77,030-$6,090 (-7.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$145,500-$31,490 (-17.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$130,100-$21,660 (-14.3%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$101,730-$27,740 (-21.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$62,440+$2,050 (+3.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$140,390-$26,790 (-16.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$112,870-$52,050 (-31.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$81,740-$24,860 (-23.3%)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 Omaha, NE-IA Relocation FAQs

About $86,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.3 in Omaha, NE-IA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Omaha, NE-IA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Omaha, NE-IA Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Omaha, NE-IA: 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 Omaha, NE-IA to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $86,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.3 in Omaha, NE-IA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Omaha, NE-IA cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.7% lower in Omaha, NE-IA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.