2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Wildwood Metro, 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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,692
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,692/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

Wildwood-The Villages, FL

COL 100.4
Gross Parity Income $80,000
Federal Income Tax -$8,770
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,120
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,110
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,668
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,442

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.0% lower in Wildwood-The Villages, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $80,000 in Wildwood. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,139 in Wildwood, $4,692 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 $4,692 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,830 in Wildwood.

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) Wildwood-The Villages (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,139-$391-25.6%
Food & Groceries$334$385+$51+15.3%
Transportation$1,062$904-$158-14.9%
Healthcare$467$482+$15+3.2%
Other Necessities$585$442-$143-24.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$391/mo (-25.6%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Wildwood-The Villages: $1,139/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$493/mo (-27.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Wildwood-The Villages: $1,324/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.57/hr (-20.1%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Wildwood-The Villages: $22.20/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.62/hr (-11.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Wildwood-The Villages: $21.16/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 Wildwood-The Villages Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$97,360-$20,490 (-17.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$128,560-$5,560 (-4.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$77,110-$20,780 (-21.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$92,370-$10,020 (-9.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$77,300-$5,820 (-7.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$161,820-$15,170 (-8.6%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$109,780-$19,690 (-15.2%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$125,340-$26,420 (-17.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$52,960-$7,430 (-12.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$149,880-$17,300 (-10.3%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$147,180-$17,740 (-10.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$99,300-$7,300 (-6.8%)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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL Relocation FAQs

About $80,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.4 in Wildwood-The Villages, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Wildwood-The Villages, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Wildwood-The Villages, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock, TX to Wildwood Metro, FL Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Wildwood-The Villages, FL: 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 Wildwood Metro, 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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $80,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 100.4 in Wildwood-The Villages, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Wildwood-The Villages, FL cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.0% lower in Wildwood-The Villages, FL than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.