2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Virginia Beach, VA-NC

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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$100,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+0.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,936
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$504
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$4,432/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

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

COL 126.0
Gross Parity Income $100,400
Federal Income Tax -$13,258
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,681
State Income Tax -$4,959
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,503
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$17,856
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,647

EPI family budgets put living costs 0.4% higher in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $100,400 in Virginia Beach. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,488 in Virginia Beach, $504 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,936 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Virginia Beach. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,432 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $49,430 in Virginia Beach.

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) Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,488-$42-2.7%
Food & Groceries$334$365+$31+9.3%
Transportation$1,062$990-$72-6.8%
Healthcare$467$387-$80-17.1%
Other Necessities$585$571-$14-2.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,146+$411+23.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$42/mo (-2.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk: $1,488/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$150/mo (-8.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk: $1,667/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.11/hr (0.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk: $27.88/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.16/hr (-4.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk: $22.62/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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$100,340-$17,510 (-14.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$129,090-$5,030 (-3.8%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$89,450-$8,440 (-8.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$104,920+$2,530 (+2.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$79,450-$3,670 (-4.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$116,920-$12,550 (-9.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$101,380-$5,220 (-4.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$62,350+$1,960 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$170,560-$6,430 (-3.6%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$158,750+$6,990 (+4.6%)View Dossier
Plumber & PipefitterSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,810$61,870-$940 (-1.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$163,940-$3,240 (-1.9%)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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Relocation FAQs

About $100,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 126.0 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Virginia Beach, VA-NC Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Virginia Beach, VA-NC 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $100,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 126.0 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 0.4% higher in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.