2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Salt Lake City Metro, UT

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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$97,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-2.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,500
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$2,244
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,256/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

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT

COL 119.5
Gross Parity Income $97,100
Federal Income Tax -$12,532
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,428
State Income Tax -$4,370
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,770
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$16,188
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,582

EPI family budgets put living costs 2.9% lower in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $97,100 in Salt Lake City. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,349 in Salt Lake City, $2,244 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,500 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Salt Lake City. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,256 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $55,240 in Salt Lake 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) Salt Lake City-Murray (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,349-$187-12.2%
Food & Groceries$342$356+$14+4.1%
Transportation$1,011$1,050+$39+3.9%
Healthcare$459$485+$26+5.7%
Other Necessities$582$496-$86-14.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,110+$375+21.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$187/mo (-12.2%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Salt Lake City-Murray: $1,349/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$192/mo (-10.6%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Salt Lake City-Murray: $1,615/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.78/hr (-2.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Salt Lake City-Murray: $26.42/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.87/hr (3.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Salt Lake City-Murray: $23.79/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 Salt Lake City-Murray Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$103,710-$7,300 (-6.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$85,890-$15,530 (-15.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$129,600-$3,690 (-2.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$98,000-$900 (-0.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$82,100-$520 (-0.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$160,810-$13,000 (-7.5%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$158,720-$10,480 (-6.2%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$143,930-$360 (-0.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$62,620+$3,610 (+6.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$97,470-$29,890 (-23.5%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$130,160+$8,520 (+7.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$155,460$139,830-$15,630 (-10.1%)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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Relocation FAQs

About $97,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 119.5 in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Salt Lake City-Murray, UT to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Salt Lake City Metro, UT Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Salt Lake City Metro, UT 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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $97,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 119.5 in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Salt Lake City-Murray, UT cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 2.9% lower in Salt Lake City-Murray, UT than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.