2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Port St. Lucie, 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 Port St. Lucie, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$92,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-7.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$2,256
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,256/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

Port St. Lucie, FL

COL 116.0
Gross Parity Income $92,400
Federal Income Tax -$11,498
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,069
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $73,833
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$20,616
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,217

EPI family budgets put living costs 7.6% lower in Port St. Lucie, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $92,400 in Port St. Lucie. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,718 in Port St. Lucie, $2,256 a year more. 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 $2,256 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $46,490 in Port St. Lucie.

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) Port St. Lucie (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,718+$188+12.3%
Food & Groceries$334$377+$43+12.9%
Transportation$1,062$1,017-$45-4.2%
Healthcare$467$498+$31+6.6%
Other Necessities$585$524-$61-10.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$188/mo (12.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Port St. Lucie: $1,718/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$252/mo (13.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Port St. Lucie: $2,069/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.12/hr (-7.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Port St. Lucie: $25.65/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.64/hr (-6.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Port St. Lucie: $22.14/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 Port St. Lucie Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$94,910-$22,940 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$128,510-$5,610 (-4.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$82,090-$15,800 (-16.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$84,810-$17,580 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$79,430-$3,690 (-4.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$142,500-$34,490 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$115,330-$36,430 (-24.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$99,790-$29,680 (-22.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$58,540-$1,850 (-3.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$135,730-$31,450 (-18.8%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$114,990-$49,930 (-30.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$98,280-$8,320 (-7.8%)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 Port St. Lucie, FL Relocation FAQs

About $92,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 116.0 in Port St. Lucie, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Port St. Lucie, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Port St. Lucie, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Port St. Lucie, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Port St. Lucie, FL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Port St. Lucie, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $92,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 116.0 in Port St. Lucie, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Port St. Lucie, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 7.6% lower in Port St. Lucie, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.