2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL

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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$99,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-0.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$1,416
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,416/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

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

COL 124.5
Gross Parity Income $99,200
Federal Income Tax -$12,994
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,589
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $78,617
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,776
Discretionary Cash Flow $58,841

EPI family budgets put living costs 0.8% lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $99,200 in Tampa. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,648 in Tampa, $1,416 a year more. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,416 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $48,940 in Tampa.

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) Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,648+$118+7.7%
Food & Groceries$334$376+$42+12.6%
Transportation$1,062$950-$112-10.5%
Healthcare$467$472+$5+1.1%
Other Necessities$585$603+$18+3.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$118/mo (7.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,648/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$100/mo (5.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,917/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.23/hr (-0.8%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $27.54/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.36/hr (-1.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $23.42/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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$103,670-$14,180 (-12.0%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$85,470-$12,420 (-12.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$130,450-$3,670 (-2.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$97,780-$4,610 (-4.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,990-$4,130 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$95,840-$10,760 (-10.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$168,470-$8,520 (-4.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$132,010-$19,750 (-13.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$157,480-$9,700 (-5.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$57,450-$2,940 (-4.9%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$106,330-$23,140 (-17.9%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,110$124,980-$1,130 (-0.9%)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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Relocation FAQs

About $99,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $99,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 0.8% lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.