2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Joseph, MO-KS

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. Joseph, MO-KS.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$76,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-23.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$8,076
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,406/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. Joseph, MO-KS

COL 95.7
Gross Parity Income $76,200
Federal Income Tax -$7,934
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,829
State Income Tax -$2,588
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $59,849
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,284
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,565

EPI family budgets put living costs 23.8% lower in St. Joseph, MO-KS than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $76,200 in St. Joseph. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $857 in St. Joseph, $8,076 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in St. Joseph. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,406 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,350 in St. Joseph.

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. Joseph (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$857-$673-44.0%
Food & Groceries$334$340+$6+1.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,071+$9+0.8%
Healthcare$467$541+$74+15.8%
Other Necessities$585$326-$259-44.3%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,041+$306+17.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$673/mo (-44.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo St. Joseph: $857/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$716/mo (-39.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo St. Joseph: $1,101/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.61/hr (-23.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr St. Joseph: $21.16/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.87/hr (-20.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr St. Joseph: $18.91/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. Joseph Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$74,570-$43,280 (-36.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$98,570-$35,550 (-26.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$77,240-$20,650 (-21.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$89,670-$12,720 (-12.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$67,480-$15,640 (-18.8%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$130,170-$46,820 (-26.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$82,480-$46,990 (-36.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$106,130-$45,630 (-30.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$97,350+$36,960 (+61.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$123,420-$43,760 (-26.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$123,480-$41,440 (-25.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$77,230-$29,370 (-27.6%)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. Joseph, MO-KS Relocation FAQs

About $76,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 95.7 in St. Joseph, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Joseph, MO-KS: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: St. Joseph, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Joseph, MO-KS Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Joseph, MO-KS: 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. Joseph, MO-KS to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $76,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 95.7 in St. Joseph, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Joseph, MO-KS cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 23.8% lower in St. Joseph, MO-KS than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.