2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$81,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-18.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,481
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,672
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$191/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

Winston-Salem, NC

COL 102.6
Gross Parity Income $81,700
Federal Income Tax -$9,144
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,250
State Income Tax -$2,751
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $63,555
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,688
Discretionary Cash Flow $48,867

EPI family budgets put living costs 18.3% lower in Winston-Salem, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $81,700 in Winston-Salem. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,224 in Winston-Salem, $3,672 a year less. 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 Winston-Salem. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $191 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $46,380 in Winston-Salem.

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) Winston-Salem (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,224-$306-20.0%
Food & Groceries$334$354+$20+6.0%
Transportation$1,062$1,038-$24-2.3%
Healthcare$467$420-$47-10.1%
Other Necessities$585$403-$182-31.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,025+$290+16.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$306/mo (-20.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Winston-Salem: $1,224/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$485/mo (-26.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Winston-Salem: $1,332/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.08/hr (-18.3%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Winston-Salem: $22.69/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.26/hr (-17.9%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Winston-Salem: $19.52/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 Winston-Salem Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$96,840-$21,010 (-17.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$124,130-$9,990 (-7.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$86,120-$11,770 (-12.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$79,560-$22,830 (-22.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$78,950-$4,170 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$160,900-$16,090 (-9.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$94,600-$34,870 (-26.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$132,550-$19,210 (-12.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$56,100-$4,290 (-7.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$155,030-$12,150 (-7.3%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$160,570-$4,350 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$82,050-$24,550 (-23.0%)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 Winston-Salem, NC Relocation FAQs

About $81,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 102.6 in Winston-Salem, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $81,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 102.6 in Winston-Salem, NC, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 18.3% lower in Winston-Salem, NC than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.