2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

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, NY.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$90,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-9.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,860
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,788
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$72/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, NY

COL 113.5
Gross Parity Income $90,400
Federal Income Tax -$11,058
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,916
State Income Tax -$4,293
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $68,133
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,572
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,561

EPI family budgets put living costs 9.6% lower in Rochester, NY than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $90,400 in Rochester. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,131 in Rochester, $4,788 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,860 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Rochester. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $72 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $51,210 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$1,131-$399-26.1%
Food & Groceries$334$372+$38+11.4%
Transportation$1,062$1,033-$29-2.7%
Healthcare$467$600+$133+28.5%
Other Necessities$585$433-$152-26.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,140+$405+23.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$399/mo (-26.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Rochester: $1,131/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$401/mo (-22.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Rochester: $1,416/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$2.66/hr (-9.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Rochester: $25.11/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.83/hr (7.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Rochester: $25.61/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$103,690-$14,160 (-12.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$122,770-$11,350 (-8.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$86,570-$11,320 (-11.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$103,520+$1,130 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$80,890-$2,230 (-2.7%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$170,000-$6,990 (-3.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$165,140+$13,380 (+8.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$96,750-$32,720 (-25.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$77,310+$16,920 (+28.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$167,800+$620 (+0.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$149,440-$15,480 (-9.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$97,070-$9,530 (-8.9%)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, NY Relocation FAQs

About $90,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.5 in Rochester, NY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $90,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 113.5 in Rochester, NY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 9.6% lower in Rochester, NY than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.