2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL

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 Birmingham, AL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$88,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-11.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,102
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,276
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,826/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

Birmingham, AL

COL 108.5
Gross Parity Income $88,200
Federal Income Tax -$10,574
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,747
State Income Tax -$3,641
Local / City Tax -$882
Net Annual Take-Home $66,355
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,156
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,199

EPI family budgets put living costs 11.8% lower in Birmingham, AL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $88,200 in Birmingham. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,263 in Birmingham, $3,276 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,102 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Birmingham. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,826 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $47,770 in Birmingham.

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) Birmingham (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,263-$273-17.8%
Food & Groceries$342$374+$32+9.4%
Transportation$1,011$1,047+$36+3.6%
Healthcare$459$489+$30+6.5%
Other Necessities$582$426-$156-26.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,160+$425+24.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$273/mo (-17.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Birmingham: $1,263/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$432/mo (-23.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Birmingham: $1,375/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.21/hr (-11.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Birmingham: $23.99/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.78/hr (-7.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Birmingham: $21.14/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 Birmingham Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$123,560+$12,550 (+11.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$78,680-$22,740 (-22.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$125,410-$7,880 (-5.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$78,660-$3,960 (-4.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$100,820+$1,920 (+1.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$140,230-$33,580 (-19.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$153,930-$15,270 (-9.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$119,740-$24,550 (-17.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$56,630-$2,380 (-4.0%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$100,500-$21,140 (-17.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$94,330-$33,030 (-25.9%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,550$102,170-$1,380 (-1.3%)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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL Relocation FAQs

About $88,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 108.5 in Birmingham, AL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Birmingham, AL to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Birmingham, AL 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 Birmingham, AL to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $88,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 108.5 in Birmingham, AL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Birmingham, AL cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 11.8% lower in Birmingham, AL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.