2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Salt Lake City Metro, UT

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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$95,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-4.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,500
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$2,172
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,328/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

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT

COL 119.5
Gross Parity Income $95,100
Federal Income Tax -$12,092
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,275
State Income Tax -$4,280
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $71,453
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,188
Discretionary Cash Flow $55,265

EPI family budgets put living costs 4.9% lower in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $95,100 in Salt Lake City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,349 in Salt Lake City, $2,172 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,500 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Salt Lake City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,328 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $55,240 in Salt Lake City.

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) Salt Lake City-Murray (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,349-$181-11.8%
Food & Groceries$334$356+$22+6.6%
Transportation$1,062$1,050-$12-1.1%
Healthcare$467$485+$18+3.9%
Other Necessities$585$496-$89-15.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,110+$375+21.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$181/mo (-11.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Salt Lake City-Murray: $1,349/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$202/mo (-11.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Salt Lake City-Murray: $1,615/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$1.35/hr (-4.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Salt Lake City-Murray: $26.42/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.01/hr (0.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Salt Lake City-Murray: $23.79/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 Salt Lake City-Murray Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$103,710-$14,140 (-12.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$129,600-$4,520 (-3.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$85,890-$12,000 (-12.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,000-$4,390 (-4.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$82,100-$1,020 (-1.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$160,810-$16,180 (-9.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$143,930-$7,830 (-5.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$97,470-$32,000 (-24.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$62,620+$2,230 (+3.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$158,720-$8,460 (-5.1%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$139,830-$25,090 (-15.2%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$64,800+$1,990 (+3.2%)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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Relocation FAQs

About $95,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 119.5 in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Salt Lake City-Murray, UT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Salt Lake City Metro, UT Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $95,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 119.5 in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Salt Lake City-Murray, UT cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 4.9% lower in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.