2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Yakima, WA

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 Yakima, WA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$81,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,312
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$6,312/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

Yakima, WA

COL 101.7
Gross Parity Income $81,000
Federal Income Tax -$8,990
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,197
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,814
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,048
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,766

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.0% lower in Yakima, WA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, so $100,000 in Austin goes about as far as $81,000 in Yakima. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,530 a month in Austin and $1,004 in Yakima, $6,312 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 $6,312 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,950 in Austin and $47,810 in Yakima.

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) Yakima (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,530$1,004-$526-34.4%
Food & Groceries$334$339+$5+1.5%
Transportation$1,062$1,139+$77+7.3%
Healthcare$467$380-$87-18.6%
Other Necessities$585$419-$166-28.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$526/mo (-34.4%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo Yakima: $1,004/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$504/mo (-27.7%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo Yakima: $1,313/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.28/hr (-19.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr Yakima: $22.49/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$3.33/hr (-14.0%)
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr Yakima: $20.45/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 Yakima Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$117,850$119,470+$1,620 (+1.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,120$115,170-$18,950 (-14.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,890$102,950+$5,060 (+5.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,390$98,780-$3,610 (-3.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$83,120$82,380-$740 (-0.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$176,990$159,120-$17,870 (-10.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$129,470$82,100-$47,370 (-36.6%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$151,760$152,110+$350 (+0.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$60,390$78,630+$18,240 (+30.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$167,180$157,550-$9,630 (-5.8%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$164,920$162,340-$2,580 (-1.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$106,600$78,630-$27,970 (-26.2%)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 Yakima, WA Relocation FAQs

About $81,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.7 in Yakima, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Yakima, WA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Relocation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Yakima, WA Overview

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Yakima, WA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Yakima, WA to match $100,000 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

About $81,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 101.7 in Yakima, WA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Yakima, WA cheaper than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.0% lower in Yakima, WA than in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.