2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Stillwater County, MT

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 Stillwater County, MT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,289
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,696
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$2,407/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

Stillwater County, MT

COL 108.1
Gross Parity Income $86,100
Federal Income Tax -$10,112
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,587
State Income Tax -$3,504
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,898
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,664
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,234

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.9% lower in Stillwater County, MT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,100 in Stillwater County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $972 in Stillwater County, $6,696 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,289 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Stillwater County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,407 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,060 in Stillwater County (BLS figure for the Billings, MT metro area).

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) Stillwater County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$972-$558-36.5%
Food & Groceries$334$351+$17+5.1%
Transportation$1,062$1,320+$258+24.3%
Healthcare$467$374-$93-19.9%
Other Necessities$585$381-$204-34.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,092+$357+20.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$558/mo (-36.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Stillwater County: $972/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$546/mo (-30.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Stillwater County: $1,271/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.86/hr (-13.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Stillwater County: $23.91/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.26/hr (-5.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Stillwater County: $22.52/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 Stillwater County Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

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 Stillwater County, MT Relocation FAQs

About $86,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.1 in Stillwater County, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Stillwater County, MT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Stillwater County, MT Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Stillwater County, MT: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Stillwater County, MT compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

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

About $86,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.1 in Stillwater County, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Stillwater County, MT cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.9% lower in Stillwater County, MT than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.