2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Reno, NV

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 Reno, NV.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$88,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-11.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$840
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$840/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

Reno, NV

COL 111.1
Gross Parity Income $88,500
Federal Income Tax -$10,640
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,770
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $71,090
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$17,520
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,570

EPI family budgets put living costs 11.5% lower in Reno, NV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $88,500 in Reno. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,460 in Reno, $840 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 $840 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,660 in Reno.

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) Reno (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,460-$70-4.6%
Food & Groceries$334$390+$56+16.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,046-$16-1.5%
Healthcare$467$474+$7+1.5%
Other Necessities$585$488-$97-16.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$70/mo (-4.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Reno: $1,460/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$20/mo (1.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Reno: $1,837/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.20/hr (-11.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Reno: $24.57/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.04/hr (-0.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Reno: $23.74/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 Reno Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$106,050-$11,800 (-10.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$125,710-$8,410 (-6.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$107,520+$9,630 (+9.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$99,500-$2,890 (-2.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$82,370-$750 (-0.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$167,900-$9,090 (-5.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$98,280-$31,190 (-24.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$123,990-$27,770 (-18.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$133,470-$33,710 (-20.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$72,800+$12,410 (+20.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$116,340-$48,580 (-29.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$103,990-$2,610 (-2.4%)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 Reno, NV Relocation FAQs

About $88,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 111.1 in Reno, NV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Reno, NV to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Reno, NV Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Reno, NV: 2026 federal, state and local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Reno, NV to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $88,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 111.1 in Reno, NV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Reno, NV cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 11.5% lower in Reno, NV than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.