2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Peoria, IL

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 Peoria, IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$79,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,805
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,828
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$2,023/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

Peoria, IL

COL 99.6
Gross Parity Income $79,300
Federal Income Tax -$8,616
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,066
State Income Tax -$3,781
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $60,837
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,532
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,305

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.7% lower in Peoria, IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $79,300 in Peoria. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $961 in Peoria, $6,828 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,805 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Peoria. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,023 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,590 in Peoria.

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) Peoria (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$961-$569-37.2%
Food & Groceries$334$353+$19+5.7%
Transportation$1,062$1,052-$10-0.9%
Healthcare$467$590+$123+26.3%
Other Necessities$585$332-$253-43.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,135+$400+23.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$569/mo (-37.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Peoria: $961/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$605/mo (-33.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Peoria: $1,212/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.75/hr (-20.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Peoria: $22.02/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.87/hr (-7.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Peoria: $21.91/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 Peoria Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$98,290-$19,560 (-16.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$130,590-$3,530 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$81,010-$16,880 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$123,730+$21,340 (+20.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$79,540-$3,580 (-4.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$173,870-$3,120 (-1.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$131,660-$20,100 (-13.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$96,890-$32,580 (-25.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$155,840-$11,340 (-6.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$80,460+$20,070 (+33.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$155,400-$9,520 (-5.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$96,530-$10,070 (-9.4%)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 Peoria, IL Relocation FAQs

About $79,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $79,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.7% lower in Peoria, IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.