2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

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 Barnstable Town, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$83,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-16.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,780
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,464
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$9,244/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

Barnstable Town, MA

COL 150.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,780
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,400
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$22,824
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,576
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $83,200
Federal Income Tax -$9,474
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,365
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $67,361
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $49,001

EPI family budgets put living costs 16.8% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Barnstable Town, MA, so $100,000 in Barnstable Town goes about as far as $83,200 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,902 a month in Barnstable Town and $1,530 in Austin, $4,464 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,780 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $9,244 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $56,360 in Barnstable Town and $56,950 in Austin.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Barnstable Town (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,902$1,530-$372-19.6%
Food & Groceries$445$334-$111-24.9%
Transportation$1,122$1,062-$60-5.3%
Healthcare$459$467+$8+1.7%
Other Necessities$678$585-$93-13.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,133$1,735-$398-18.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$372/mo (-19.6%)
Barnstable Town: $1,902/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$671/mo (-27.0%)
Barnstable Town: $2,488/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.59/hr (-16.8%)
Barnstable Town: $33.36/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$6.61/hr (-21.8%)
Barnstable Town: $30.39/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Barnstable Town Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$100,590$117,850+$17,260 (+17.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,690$134,120+$430 (+0.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$103,380$97,890-$5,490 (-5.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,980$102,390-$590 (-0.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$96,110$83,120-$12,990 (-13.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$177,300$176,990-$310 (-0.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$109,090$129,470+$20,380 (+18.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$140,740$151,760+$11,020 (+7.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$78,570$60,390-$18,180 (-23.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$156,010$167,180+$11,170 (+7.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,490$164,920+$7,430 (+4.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$132,140$106,600-$25,540 (-19.3%)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

Barnstable Town, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $83,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (150.8 in Barnstable Town, MA, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $83,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (150.8 in Barnstable Town, MA, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 16.8% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Barnstable Town, MA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.