2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Rochester, MN

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 Rochester, MN.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$89,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-10.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,277
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,648
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,629/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

Rochester, MN

COL 112.2
Gross Parity Income $89,300
Federal Income Tax -$10,816
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,831
State Income Tax -$4,549
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $67,104
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,712
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,392

EPI family budgets put living costs 10.7% lower in Rochester, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $89,300 in Rochester. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,226 in Rochester, $3,648 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,277 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Rochester. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,629 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $60,620 in Rochester.

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) Rochester (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,226-$304-19.9%
Food & Groceries$334$371+$37+11.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,121+$59+5.6%
Healthcare$467$557+$90+19.3%
Other Necessities$585$422-$163-27.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,175+$440+25.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$304/mo (-19.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Rochester: $1,226/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$395/mo (-21.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Rochester: $1,422/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.96/hr (-10.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Rochester: $24.81/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.74/hr (7.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Rochester: $25.52/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 Rochester Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$85,650-$32,200 (-27.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$134,450+$330 (+0.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$101,660+$3,770 (+3.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$106,270+$3,880 (+3.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$83,960+$840 (+1.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$177,620+$630 (+0.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$106,300-$23,170 (-17.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$127,500-$24,260 (-16.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$79,650+$19,260 (+31.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$158,570-$8,610 (-5.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$175,280+$10,360 (+6.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$108,560+$1,960 (+1.8%)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 Rochester, MN Relocation FAQs

About $89,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 112.2 in Rochester, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Rochester, MN to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Rochester, MN Overview

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

About $89,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 112.2 in Rochester, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Rochester, MN cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 10.7% lower in Rochester, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.