2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Las Cruces, NM

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 Las Cruces, NM.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,569
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,732
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,163/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

Las Cruces, NM

COL 98.8
Gross Parity Income $80,300
Federal Income Tax -$8,836
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,143
State Income Tax -$2,608
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $62,713
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,700
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,013

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.7% lower in Las Cruces, NM than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $80,300 in Las Cruces. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $975 in Las Cruces, $6,732 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,569 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Las Cruces. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,163 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $42,070 in Las Cruces.

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) Las Cruces (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$975-$561-36.5%
Food & Groceries$342$326-$16-4.7%
Transportation$1,011$1,018+$7+0.7%
Healthcare$459$681+$222+48.4%
Other Necessities$582$331-$251-43.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,032+$297+17.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$561/mo (-36.5%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Las Cruces: $975/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$734/mo (-40.6%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Las Cruces: $1,073/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.35/hr (-19.7%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Las Cruces: $21.85/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.94/hr (-8.5%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Las Cruces: $20.98/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 Las Cruces Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$85,770-$25,240 (-22.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$83,310-$18,110 (-17.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$107,300-$25,990 (-19.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$82,110-$16,790 (-17.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$67,470-$15,150 (-18.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$128,360-$45,450 (-26.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$101,610-$42,680 (-29.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$117,540-$51,660 (-30.5%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$53,980-$5,030 (-8.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$109,430-$17,930 (-14.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$73,320-$29,540 (-28.7%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$99,710-$21,930 (-18.0%)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 Las Cruces, NM Relocation FAQs

About $80,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 98.8 in Las Cruces, NM, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Las Cruces, NM: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Las Cruces, NM to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Las Cruces, NM Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Las Cruces, NM: 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 Las Cruces, NM to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $80,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 98.8 in Las Cruces, NM, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Las Cruces, NM cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.7% lower in Las Cruces, NM than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.