2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Lexington-Fayette, KY

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 Lexington-Fayette, KY.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$78,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-21.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$6,132
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,972
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,160/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

Lexington-Fayette, KY

COL 96.9
Gross Parity Income $78,800
Federal Income Tax -$8,506
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,028
State Income Tax -$2,640
Local / City Tax -$2,167
Net Annual Take-Home $59,458
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,460
Discretionary Cash Flow $44,998

EPI family budgets put living costs 21.2% lower in Lexington-Fayette, KY than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $78,800 in Lexington. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,205 in Lexington, $3,972 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $6,132 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Lexington. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,160 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $48,620 in Lexington.

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) Lexington-Fayette (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,205-$331-21.5%
Food & Groceries$342$343+$1+0.3%
Transportation$1,011$1,030+$19+1.9%
Healthcare$459$444-$15-3.3%
Other Necessities$582$354-$228-39.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,246+$511+29.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$331/mo (-21.5%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Lexington-Fayette: $1,205/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$391/mo (-21.6%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Lexington-Fayette: $1,416/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.76/hr (-21.2%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Lexington-Fayette: $21.44/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.50/hr (-10.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Lexington-Fayette: $20.42/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 Lexington-Fayette Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$80,440-$30,570 (-27.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$79,040-$22,380 (-22.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$123,510-$9,780 (-7.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$84,520-$14,380 (-14.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$77,780-$4,840 (-5.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$144,160-$29,650 (-17.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$124,860-$19,430 (-13.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$135,760-$33,440 (-19.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$57,320-$1,690 (-2.9%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$79,610-$47,750 (-37.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$99,190-$3,670 (-3.6%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$46,210$44,340-$1,870 (-4.0%)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 Lexington-Fayette, KY Relocation FAQs

About $78,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 96.9 in Lexington-Fayette, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Lexington-Fayette, KY: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Lexington-Fayette, KY to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Lexington-Fayette, KY Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Lexington-Fayette, KY: 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 Lexington-Fayette, KY 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 Lexington-Fayette, KY to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $78,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 96.9 in Lexington-Fayette, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Lexington-Fayette, KY cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 21.2% lower in Lexington-Fayette, KY than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.