2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$95,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-4.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$6,805
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$336
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$7,141/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

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

COL 119.9
Gross Parity Income $95,500
Federal Income Tax -$12,180
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,306
State Income Tax -$2,932
Local / City Tax -$3,567
Net Annual Take-Home $69,515
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,696
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,819

EPI family budgets put living costs 4.5% lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $95,500 in Philadelphia. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,558 in Philadelphia, $336 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $6,805 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Philadelphia. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $7,141 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $54,310 in Philadelphia.

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) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,558+$28+1.8%
Food & Groceries$334$388+$54+16.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,028-$34-3.2%
Healthcare$467$374-$93-19.9%
Other Necessities$585$546-$39-6.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,302+$567+32.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$28/mo (1.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $1,558/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$43/mo (2.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $1,860/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$1.26/hr (-4.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $26.51/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.47/hr (2.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $24.25/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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$121,630+$3,780 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$101,180+$3,290 (+3.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$133,040-$1,080 (-0.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$85,990+$2,870 (+3.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$104,160+$1,770 (+1.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$173,470-$3,520 (-2.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$166,920-$260 (-0.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$100,920-$5,680 (-5.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$156,500+$4,740 (+3.1%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,110$122,920-$3,190 (-2.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$121,990-$7,480 (-5.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$74,590+$14,200 (+23.5%)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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Relocation FAQs

About $95,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 119.9 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $95,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 119.9 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 4.5% lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.