2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$79,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,277
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,828
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,551/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

St. Cloud, MN

COL 99.5
Gross Parity Income $79,200
Federal Income Tax -$8,594
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,059
State Income Tax -$3,862
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $60,685
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,532
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,153

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.8% lower in St. Cloud, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $79,200 in St. Cloud. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $961 in St. Cloud, $6,828 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 St. Cloud. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,551 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $50,840 in St. Cloud.

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) St. Cloud (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$961-$569-37.2%
Food & Groceries$334$358+$24+7.2%
Transportation$1,062$1,115+$53+5.0%
Healthcare$467$403-$64-13.7%
Other Necessities$585$377-$208-35.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,175+$440+25.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$569/mo (-37.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo St. Cloud: $961/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$584/mo (-32.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo St. Cloud: $1,233/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.77/hr (-20.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr St. Cloud: $22.00/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.62/hr (-2.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr St. Cloud: $23.16/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 St. Cloud Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$89,700-$28,150 (-23.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$103,000-$31,120 (-23.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$105,290+$7,400 (+7.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$96,390-$6,000 (-5.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$77,720-$5,400 (-6.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$142,510-$34,480 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$124,290-$27,470 (-18.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$105,790-$23,680 (-18.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$81,890+$21,500 (+35.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$135,760-$31,420 (-18.8%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$134,650-$30,270 (-18.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$94,590-$12,010 (-11.3%)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 St. Cloud, MN Relocation FAQs

About $79,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 99.5 in St. Cloud, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: St. Cloud, MN to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Cloud, MN Overview

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

About $79,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 99.5 in St. Cloud, MN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Cloud, MN cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.8% lower in St. Cloud, MN than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.