2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Punta Gorda, 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 Punta Gorda, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$85,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-14.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,912
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,912/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

Punta Gorda, FL

COL 107.3
Gross Parity Income $85,500
Federal Income Tax -$9,980
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,541
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $68,979
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,448
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,531

EPI family budgets put living costs 14.5% lower in Punta Gorda, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $85,500 in Punta Gorda. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,204 in Punta Gorda, $3,912 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 $3,912 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,500 in Punta Gorda.

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) Punta Gorda (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,204-$326-21.3%
Food & Groceries$334$374+$40+12.0%
Transportation$1,062$944-$118-11.1%
Healthcare$467$517+$50+10.7%
Other Necessities$585$474-$111-19.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$326/mo (-21.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Punta Gorda: $1,204/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$242/mo (-13.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Punta Gorda: $1,575/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$4.04/hr (-14.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Punta Gorda: $23.73/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.42/hr (-10.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Punta Gorda: $21.36/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 Punta Gorda Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$89,820-$28,030 (-23.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$134,510+$390 (+0.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$80,410-$17,480 (-17.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$79,890-$22,500 (-22.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$74,800-$8,320 (-10.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$168,730-$8,260 (-4.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$112,360-$39,400 (-26.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$57,860-$2,530 (-4.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$127,280-$39,900 (-23.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$120,400-$44,520 (-27.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$99,010-$7,590 (-7.1%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$98,580-$4,400 (-4.3%)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 Punta Gorda, FL Relocation FAQs

About $85,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 107.3 in Punta Gorda, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Punta Gorda, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Punta Gorda, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Punta Gorda, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Punta Gorda, 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 Punta Gorda, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $85,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 107.3 in Punta Gorda, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Punta Gorda, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 14.5% lower in Punta Gorda, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.