2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Worcester, MA

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 Worcester, MA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$102,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+2.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,780
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$684
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,464/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

Worcester, MA

COL 128.7
Gross Parity Income $102,500
Federal Income Tax -$13,720
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,841
State Income Tax -$4,905
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $76,034
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,044
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,990

EPI family budgets put living costs 2.5% higher in Worcester, MA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $102,500 in Worcester. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,587 in Worcester, $684 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,780 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Worcester. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,464 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $57,830 in Worcester.

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) Worcester (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,587+$57+3.7%
Food & Groceries$334$386+$52+15.6%
Transportation$1,062$1,085+$23+2.2%
Healthcare$467$420-$47-10.1%
Other Necessities$585$563-$22-3.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,133+$398+22.9%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$57/mo (3.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Worcester: $1,587/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$226/mo (12.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Worcester: $2,043/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.70/hr (2.5%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Worcester: $28.47/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$2.62/hr (11.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Worcester: $26.40/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 Worcester Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$111,900-$5,950 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$146,950+$12,830 (+9.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$100,240+$2,350 (+2.4%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$100,290-$2,100 (-2.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$94,070+$10,950 (+13.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$193,890+$16,900 (+9.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$162,810+$11,050 (+7.3%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$104,140-$25,330 (-19.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$75,510+$15,120 (+25.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$170,940+$3,760 (+2.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$199,280+$34,360 (+20.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$122,180+$15,580 (+14.6%)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 Worcester, MA Relocation FAQs

About $102,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 128.7 in Worcester, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Worcester, MA Overview

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

About $102,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 128.7 in Worcester, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Worcester, MA cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 2.5% higher in Worcester, MA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.