2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Panama City Metro, FL

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 Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$94,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-5.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$156
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$156/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

Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL

COL 118.3
Gross Parity Income $94,200
Federal Income Tax -$11,894
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,206
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,100
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,204
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,896

EPI family budgets put living costs 5.8% lower in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $94,200 in Panama City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,517 in Panama City, $156 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 $156 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,030 in Panama City.

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) Panama City-Panama City Beach (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,517-$13-0.8%
Food & Groceries$334$363+$29+8.7%
Transportation$1,062$1,047-$15-1.4%
Healthcare$467$480+$13+2.8%
Other Necessities$585$537-$48-8.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$13/mo (-0.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Panama City-Panama City Beach: $1,517/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$166/mo (-9.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Panama City-Panama City Beach: $1,651/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$1.61/hr (-5.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Panama City-Panama City Beach: $26.16/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.05/hr (-8.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Panama City-Panama City Beach: $21.73/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 Panama City-Panama City Beach Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$86,070-$31,780 (-27.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$121,150-$12,970 (-9.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$75,310-$22,580 (-23.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$92,360-$10,030 (-9.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$71,820-$11,300 (-13.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$138,670-$38,320 (-21.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$106,330-$23,140 (-17.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$112,560-$39,200 (-25.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$52,900-$7,490 (-12.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$123,350-$43,830 (-26.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$124,960-$39,960 (-24.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$88,630-$17,970 (-16.9%)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 Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL Relocation FAQs

About $94,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 118.3 in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Panama City Metro, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Panama City Metro, FL compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $94,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 118.3 in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 5.8% lower in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.