2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL

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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$101,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+1.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$1,344
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,344/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

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

COL 124.5
Gross Parity Income $101,300
Federal Income Tax -$13,456
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,749
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $80,095
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,776
Discretionary Cash Flow $60,319

EPI family budgets put living costs 1.3% higher in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $101,300 in Tampa. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $1,648 in Tampa, $1,344 a year more. 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 $1,344 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas and $48,940 in Tampa.

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) Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$1,648+$112+7.3%
Food & Groceries$342$376+$34+9.9%
Transportation$1,011$950-$61-6.0%
Healthcare$459$472+$13+2.8%
Other Necessities$582$603+$21+3.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$112/mo (7.3%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,648/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$110/mo (6.1%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,917/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.34/hr (1.2%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $27.54/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.50/hr (2.2%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $23.42/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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$103,670-$7,340 (-6.6%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$85,470-$15,950 (-15.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$130,450-$2,840 (-2.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$97,780-$1,120 (-1.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$78,990-$3,630 (-4.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$168,470-$5,340 (-3.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$157,480-$11,720 (-6.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$132,010-$12,280 (-8.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$95,840-$7,020 (-6.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$57,450-$1,560 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$124,980+$3,340 (+2.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$106,330-$21,030 (-16.5%)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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Relocation FAQs

About $101,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to match $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $101,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL cheaper than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 1.3% higher in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.