2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Wilmington, 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 Wilmington, NC.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$88,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-11.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$432
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$3,913/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

Wilmington, NC

COL 111.2
Gross Parity Income $88,600
Federal Income Tax -$10,662
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,778
State Income Tax -$3,026
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $68,134
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,792
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,342

EPI family budgets put living costs 11.4% lower in Wilmington, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $88,600 in Wilmington. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,566 in Wilmington, $432 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,481 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Wilmington. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,913 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $45,800 in Wilmington.

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) Wilmington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,566+$36+2.4%
Food & Groceries$334$393+$59+17.7%
Transportation$1,062$958-$104-9.8%
Healthcare$467$518+$51+10.9%
Other Necessities$585$458-$127-21.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$36/mo (2.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Wilmington: $1,566/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$112/mo (-6.2%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Wilmington: $1,705/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.17/hr (-11.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Wilmington: $24.60/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.04/hr (-4.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Wilmington: $22.74/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 Wilmington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$90,270-$27,580 (-23.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$123,730-$10,390 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$80,970-$16,920 (-17.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$89,120-$13,270 (-13.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$77,920-$5,200 (-6.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$160,980-$16,010 (-9.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$96,350-$33,120 (-25.6%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$133,400-$18,360 (-12.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$54,080-$6,310 (-10.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$152,150-$15,030 (-9.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$153,860-$11,060 (-6.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$86,960-$19,640 (-18.4%)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 Wilmington, NC Relocation FAQs

About $88,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 111.2 in Wilmington, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Wilmington, NC to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Wilmington, NC Overview

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

About $88,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 111.2 in Wilmington, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Wilmington, NC cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 11.4% lower in Wilmington, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.