2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,277
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$9,060
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,783/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

Rock County, MN

COL 93.6
Gross Parity Income $74,500
Federal Income Tax -$7,560
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,699
State Income Tax -$3,543
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $57,698
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,300
Discretionary Cash Flow $48,398

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.5% lower in Rock County, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $74,500 in Rock County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $775 in Rock County, $9,060 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 Rock County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,783 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,970 in Rock County (BLS figure for the Sioux Falls, SD-MN metro area).

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) Rock County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$775-$755-49.3%
Food & Groceries$334$349+$15+4.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,182+$120+11.3%
Healthcare$467$445-$22-4.7%
Other Necessities$585$307-$278-47.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,175+$440+25.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$755/mo (-49.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Rock County: $775/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$803/mo (-44.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Rock County: $1,014/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$7.07/hr (-25.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Rock County: $20.70/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.54/hr (-19.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Rock County: $19.24/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 Rock County Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

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 Rock County, MN Relocation FAQs

About $74,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.6 in Rock County, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $74,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 93.6 in Rock County, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.5% lower in Rock County, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.