2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Traverse City, MI

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 Traverse City, MI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,999
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,104
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$105/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

Traverse City, MI

COL 108.3
Gross Parity Income $86,300
Federal Income Tax -$10,156
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,602
State Income Tax -$3,417
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $66,125
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,256
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,869

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.7% lower in Traverse City, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $86,300 in Traverse City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,188 in Traverse City, $4,104 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,999 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Traverse City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $105 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,470 in Traverse City.

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) Traverse City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,188-$342-22.4%
Food & Groceries$334$355+$21+6.3%
Transportation$1,062$1,129+$67+6.3%
Healthcare$467$438-$29-6.2%
Other Necessities$585$435-$150-25.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,068+$333+19.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$342/mo (-22.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Traverse City: $1,188/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$381/mo (-21.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Traverse City: $1,436/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.81/hr (-13.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Traverse City: $23.96/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.53/hr (-10.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Traverse City: $21.25/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 Traverse City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$84,300-$33,550 (-28.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$95,860-$38,260 (-28.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$83,690-$14,200 (-14.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$83,720-$18,670 (-18.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$74,820-$8,300 (-10.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$141,450-$35,540 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$82,330-$47,140 (-36.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$104,090-$47,670 (-31.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$61,650+$1,260 (+2.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$119,810-$47,370 (-28.3%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$137,590-$27,330 (-16.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$94,690-$11,910 (-11.2%)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 Traverse City, MI Relocation FAQs

About $86,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.3 in Traverse City, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Traverse City, MI: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Traverse City, MI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Traverse City, MI Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Traverse City, MI: 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 Traverse City, MI to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $86,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 108.3 in Traverse City, MI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Traverse City, MI cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.7% lower in Traverse City, MI than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.