2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

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 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$70,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-29.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,274
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,780
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,506/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

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

COL 88.5
Gross Parity Income $70,500
Federal Income Tax -$6,680
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,393
State Income Tax -$2,027
Local / City Tax -$81
Net Annual Take-Home $56,318
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,580
Discretionary Cash Flow $44,738

EPI family budgets put living costs 29.5% lower in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $70,500 in Sioux City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $965 in Sioux City, $6,780 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,274 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Sioux City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,506 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,030 in Sioux 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) Sioux City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$965-$565-36.9%
Food & Groceries$334$327-$7-2.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,085+$23+2.2%
Healthcare$467$432-$35-7.5%
Other Necessities$585$324-$261-44.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,008+$273+15.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$565/mo (-36.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Sioux City: $965/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$623/mo (-34.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Sioux City: $1,194/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$8.21/hr (-29.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Sioux City: $19.56/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.40/hr (-22.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Sioux City: $18.38/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 Sioux City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$90,230-$27,620 (-23.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$101,150-$32,970 (-24.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$75,840-$22,050 (-22.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$85,130-$17,260 (-16.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,650-$4,470 (-5.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$135,570-$41,420 (-23.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$108,820-$20,650 (-15.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$132,150-$19,610 (-12.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$73,910+$13,520 (+22.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$134,510-$32,670 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$119,410-$45,510 (-27.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$93,910-$12,690 (-11.9%)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 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Relocation FAQs

About $70,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 88.5 in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Sioux City, IA-NE-SD: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Sioux City, IA-NE-SD to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Sioux City, IA-NE-SD: 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 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $70,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 88.5 in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Sioux City, IA-NE-SD cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 29.5% lower in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.