2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS

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 Kansas City, MO-KS.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$88,900
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-11.1%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$2,040
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,630/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

Kansas City, MO-KS

COL 109.4
Gross Parity Income $88,900
Federal Income Tax -$10,728
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,801
State Income Tax -$3,165
Local / City Tax -$889
Net Annual Take-Home $67,317
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,392
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,925

EPI family budgets put living costs 11.1% lower in Kansas City, MO-KS than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $88,900 in Kansas City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,366 in Kansas City, $2,040 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,670 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Kansas City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,630 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $50,820 in Kansas City.

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) Kansas City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,366-$170-11.1%
Food & Groceries$342$371+$29+8.5%
Transportation$1,011$1,032+$21+2.1%
Healthcare$459$458-$1-0.2%
Other Necessities$582$449-$133-22.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,124+$389+22.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$170/mo (-11.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Kansas City: $1,366/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$261/mo (-14.4%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Kansas City: $1,546/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$3.01/hr (-11.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Kansas City: $24.19/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.36/hr (-5.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Kansas City: $21.56/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 Kansas City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$90,490-$20,520 (-18.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$83,040-$18,380 (-18.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$124,990-$8,300 (-6.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$101,050+$2,150 (+2.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$80,040-$2,580 (-3.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$168,050-$5,760 (-3.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$162,490-$6,710 (-4.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$159,990+$15,700 (+10.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$76,860+$17,850 (+30.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$105,470-$21,890 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$98,430-$4,430 (-4.3%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$46,210$63,000+$16,790 (+36.3%)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 Kansas City, MO-KS Relocation FAQs

About $88,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 109.4 in Kansas City, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Kansas City, MO-KS to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Kansas City, MO-KS: 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 Kansas City, MO-KS to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $88,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 109.4 in Kansas City, MO-KS, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Kansas City, MO-KS cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 11.1% lower in Kansas City, MO-KS than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.