2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Texarkana, TX-AR

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 Texarkana, TX-AR.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$75,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-24.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$7,872
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$7,872/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

Texarkana, TX-AR

COL 94.9
Gross Parity Income $75,600
Federal Income Tax -$7,802
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,783
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $62,015
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$10,488
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,527

EPI family budgets put living costs 24.4% lower in Texarkana, TX-AR than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $75,600 in Texarkana. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $874 in Texarkana, $7,872 a year less. 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 $7,872 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $43,200 in Texarkana.

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) Texarkana (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$874-$656-42.9%
Food & Groceries$334$318-$16-4.8%
Transportation$1,062$1,060-$2-0.2%
Healthcare$467$493+$26+5.6%
Other Necessities$585$362-$223-38.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$656/mo (-42.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Texarkana: $874/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$699/mo (-38.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Texarkana: $1,118/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$6.78/hr (-24.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Texarkana: $20.99/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$5.71/hr (-24.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Texarkana: $18.07/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 Texarkana Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$77,060-$40,790 (-34.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$116,490-$17,630 (-13.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$80,610-$17,280 (-17.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$74,590-$27,800 (-27.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$69,440-$13,680 (-16.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$128,650-$48,340 (-27.3%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$91,920-$37,550 (-29.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$102,780-$48,980 (-32.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$58,140-$2,250 (-3.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$121,770-$45,410 (-27.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$99,790-$65,130 (-39.5%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,980$85,560-$17,420 (-16.9%)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 Texarkana, TX-AR Relocation FAQs

About $75,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 94.9 in Texarkana, TX-AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Texarkana, TX-AR: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Texarkana, TX-AR to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Texarkana, TX-AR Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Texarkana, TX-AR: 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 Texarkana, TX-AR to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $75,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 94.9 in Texarkana, TX-AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Texarkana, TX-AR cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 24.4% lower in Texarkana, TX-AR than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.