2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Rapid City, SD

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 Rapid City, SD.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$79,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-20.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$5,316
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$5,316/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

Rapid City, SD

COL 98.0
Gross Parity Income $79,600
Federal Income Tax -$8,682
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,089
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $64,829
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,116
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,713

EPI family budgets put living costs 20.4% lower in Rapid City, SD than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $79,600 in Rapid City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,093 in Rapid City, $5,316 a year less. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,316 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $46,270 in Rapid 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) Rapid City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,093-$443-28.8%
Food & Groceries$342$362+$20+5.8%
Transportation$1,011$1,067+$56+5.5%
Healthcare$459$628+$169+36.8%
Other Necessities$582$350-$232-39.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$443/mo (-28.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Rapid City: $1,093/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$377/mo (-20.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Rapid City: $1,430/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.54/hr (-20.4%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Rapid City: $21.66/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.20/hr (-9.6%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Rapid City: $20.72/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 Rapid City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$130,410+$19,400 (+17.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$79,380-$22,040 (-21.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$91,840-$41,450 (-31.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$74,700-$24,200 (-24.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$79,270-$3,350 (-4.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$163,860-$9,950 (-5.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$134,010-$10,280 (-7.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$160,280-$8,920 (-5.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$61,160+$2,150 (+3.6%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$100,420-$26,940 (-21.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$92,710-$10,150 (-9.9%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,550$120,560+$17,010 (+16.4%)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 Rapid City, SD Relocation FAQs

About $79,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 98.0 in Rapid City, SD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Rapid City, SD: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Rapid City, SD Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Rapid City, SD: 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 Rapid City, SD to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $79,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 98.0 in Rapid City, SD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Rapid City, SD cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 20.4% lower in Rapid City, SD than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.