2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Burlington Metro, VT to Houston-Pasadena, 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 Burlington-South Burlington, VT to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$73,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-26.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,089
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$5,496
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$9,585/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

Burlington-South Burlington, VT

COL 145.6
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,089
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,091
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$20,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,463
Target Market
Destination Location

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

COL 107.4
Gross Parity Income $73,700
Federal Income Tax -$7,384
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,638
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $60,678
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,132
Discretionary Cash Flow $45,546

EPI family budgets put living costs 26.3% lower in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Burlington-South Burlington, VT, so $100,000 in Burlington goes about as far as $73,700 in Houston. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,719 a month in Burlington and $1,261 in Houston, $5,496 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,089 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Houston. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $9,585 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $60,020 in Burlington and $49,410 in Houston.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Burlington-South Burlington (Monthly) Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,719$1,261-$458-26.6%
Food & Groceries$405$321-$84-20.7%
Transportation$1,148$1,015-$133-11.6%
Healthcare$882$422-$460-52.2%
Other Necessities$554$480-$74-13.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,076$1,735-$341-16.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$458/mo (-26.6%)
Burlington-South Burlington: $1,719/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$668/mo (-30.9%)
Burlington-South Burlington: $2,165/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$8.45/hr (-26.2%)
Burlington-South Burlington: $32.20/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$14.02/hr (-40.5%)
Burlington-South Burlington: $34.60/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Burlington-South Burlington Median Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$98,430$119,600+$21,170 (+21.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$98,330$99,830+$1,500 (+1.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$85,410$99,510+$14,100 (+16.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,510$85,090+$2,580 (+3.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$126,940$129,440+$2,500 (+2.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$66,860$59,180-$7,680 (-11.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$134,650$166,910+$32,260 (+24.0%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$63,250$63,180-$70 (-0.1%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,450$103,530+$80 (+0.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$131,840$135,880+$4,040 (+3.1%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$52,820$46,630-$6,190 (-11.7%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$63,460$57,940-$5,520 (-8.7%)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

Burlington-South Burlington, VT to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Relocation FAQs

About $73,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (145.6 in Burlington-South Burlington, VT, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Burlington-South Burlington, VT to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Relocation: Burlington Metro, VT to Houston-Pasadena, TX Overview

Burlington-South Burlington, VT to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Burlington Metro, VT to Houston-Pasadena, TX compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to match $100,000 in Burlington-South Burlington, VT?

About $73,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (145.6 in Burlington-South Burlington, VT, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX cheaper than Burlington-South Burlington, VT?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 26.3% lower in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Burlington-South Burlington, VT. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.