2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$86,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-14.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,289
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$4,848
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$559/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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

COL 123.0
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 -$18,432
Discretionary Cash Flow $60,748
Target Market
Destination Location

Billings, MT

COL 105.8
Gross Parity Income $86,000
Federal Income Tax -$10,090
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,579
State Income Tax -$3,498
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,833
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,584
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,249

EPI family budgets put living costs 14.0% lower in Billings, MT than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $86,000 in Billings. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,132 in Billings, $4,848 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,289 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Billings. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $559 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $49,060 in Billings.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (Monthly) Billings (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,132-$404-26.3%
Food & Groceries$342$351+$9+2.6%
Transportation$1,011$1,076+$65+6.4%
Healthcare$459$374-$85-18.5%
Other Necessities$582$424-$158-27.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,092+$357+20.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$404/mo (-26.3%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Billings: $1,132/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$375/mo (-20.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Billings: $1,432/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.81/hr (-14.0%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Billings: $23.39/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.16/hr (-5.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Billings: $21.76/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Median Billings Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$96,980-$14,030 (-12.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$82,300-$19,120 (-18.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$100,440-$32,850 (-24.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$85,540-$13,360 (-13.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$75,780-$6,840 (-8.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$129,280-$44,530 (-25.6%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$117,970-$26,320 (-18.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$137,240-$31,960 (-18.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$80,980+$21,970 (+37.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$91,920-$35,440 (-27.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$99,060-$3,800 (-3.7%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,550$100,220-$3,330 (-3.2%)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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT Relocation FAQs

About $86,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 105.8 in Billings, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Billings, MT to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Billings, MT: 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 Billings, MT to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $86,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 105.8 in Billings, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Billings, MT cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 14.0% lower in Billings, MT than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.