2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$127,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+27.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$8,364
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$4,694/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

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

COL 98.5
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,670
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,510
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,996
Discretionary Cash Flow $65,514
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $127,500
Federal Income Tax -$19,334
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,754
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $98,412
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $80,052

EPI family budgets put living costs 27.5% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, so $100,000 in Cape Girardeau goes about as far as $127,500 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $833 a month in Cape Girardeau and $1,530 in Austin, $8,364 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,694 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $44,470 in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$833$1,530+$697+83.7%
Food & Groceries$330$334+$4+1.2%
Transportation$1,105$1,062-$43-3.9%
Healthcare$554$467-$87-15.7%
Other Necessities$334$585+$251+75.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,041$1,735-$306-15.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$697/mo (83.7%)
Cape Girardeau: $833/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$805/mo (79.5%)
Cape Girardeau: $1,012/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$5.99/hr (27.5%)
Cape Girardeau: $21.78/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$4.51/hr (23.4%)
Cape Girardeau: $19.27/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 Cape Girardeau Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$74,790$117,850+$43,060 (+57.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$100,220$134,120+$33,900 (+33.8%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$82,640$97,890+$15,250 (+18.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$78,150$102,390+$24,240 (+31.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$64,010$83,120+$19,110 (+29.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$128,230$176,990+$48,760 (+38.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$77,500$129,470+$51,970 (+67.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$98,810$151,760+$52,950 (+53.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,720$60,390+$670 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$139,690$167,180+$27,490 (+19.7%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$94,750$164,920+$70,170 (+74.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$77,990$106,600+$28,610 (+36.7%)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

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $127,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.5 in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
Relocation: Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Cape Girardeau, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?

About $127,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.5 in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, 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 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 27.5% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.