2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Rockford, IL

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 Rockford, IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,805
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,608
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$2,803/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

Rockford, IL

COL 101.5
Gross Parity Income $80,800
Federal Income Tax -$8,946
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,181
State Income Tax -$3,855
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $61,818
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,752
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,066

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.2% lower in Rockford, IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $80,800 in Rockford. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $896 in Rockford, $7,608 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,805 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Rockford. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,803 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,120 in Rockford.

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) Rockford (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$896-$634-41.4%
Food & Groceries$334$344+$10+3.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,017-$45-4.2%
Healthcare$467$571+$104+22.3%
Other Necessities$585$358-$227-38.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,135+$400+23.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$634/mo (-41.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Rockford: $896/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$645/mo (-35.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Rockford: $1,172/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.32/hr (-19.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Rockford: $22.45/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.66/hr (-7.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Rockford: $22.12/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 Rockford Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$98,390-$19,460 (-16.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$107,640-$26,480 (-19.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$80,930-$16,960 (-17.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$94,690-$7,700 (-7.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$75,260-$7,860 (-9.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$146,600-$30,390 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$133,560-$18,200 (-12.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$84,190-$45,280 (-35.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$135,650-$31,530 (-18.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$93,280+$32,890 (+54.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$124,440-$40,480 (-24.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$96,430-$10,170 (-9.5%)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 Rockford, IL Relocation FAQs

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.5 in Rockford, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Rockford, IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Rockford, IL Overview

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

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

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.5 in Rockford, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Rockford, IL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.2% lower in Rockford, IL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.