2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to St. Louis, MO-IL

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 St. Louis, MO-IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$83,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-16.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$5,184
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$514/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

St. Louis, MO-IL

COL 102.3
Gross Parity Income $83,200
Federal Income Tax -$9,474
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,365
State Income Tax -$2,906
Local / City Tax -$832
Net Annual Take-Home $63,623
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,248
Discretionary Cash Flow $50,375

EPI family budgets put living costs 16.8% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $83,200 in St. Louis. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,104 in St. Louis, $5,184 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 St. Louis. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $514 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $49,990 in St. Louis.

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) St. Louis (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,104-$432-28.1%
Food & Groceries$342$373+$31+9.1%
Transportation$1,011$1,018+$7+0.7%
Healthcare$459$427-$32-7.0%
Other Necessities$582$411-$171-29.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,124+$389+22.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$432/mo (-28.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo St. Louis: $1,104/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$458/mo (-25.3%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo St. Louis: $1,349/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$4.57/hr (-16.8%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr St. Louis: $22.63/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$1.85/hr (-8.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr St. Louis: $21.07/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 St. Louis Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$93,140-$17,870 (-16.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$83,180-$18,240 (-18.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$129,030-$4,260 (-3.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$100,510+$1,610 (+1.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$78,880-$3,740 (-4.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$167,130-$6,680 (-3.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$158,780-$10,420 (-6.2%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$123,870-$20,420 (-14.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$108,450-$18,910 (-14.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$77,170+$18,160 (+30.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$101,100-$1,760 (-1.7%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$106,200-$15,440 (-12.7%)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 St. Louis, MO-IL Relocation FAQs

About $83,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to St. Louis, MO-IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: St. Louis, MO-IL to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to St. Louis, MO-IL Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to St. Louis, MO-IL: 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 St. Louis, MO-IL to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $83,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Louis, MO-IL cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 16.8% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.