2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

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 Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$110,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+10.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$5,277
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$3,600
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,677/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

Duluth, MN-WI

COL 96.9
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$5,277
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $73,903
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,532
Discretionary Cash Flow $62,371
Target Market
Destination Location

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

COL 107.4
Gross Parity Income $110,800
Federal Income Tax -$15,546
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,476
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $86,778
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,132
Discretionary Cash Flow $71,646

EPI family budgets put living costs 10.8% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Duluth, MN-WI, so $100,000 in Duluth goes about as far as $110,800 in Houston. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $961 a month in Duluth and $1,261 in Houston, $3,600 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,277 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Houston. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,677 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $50,000 in Duluth and $49,410 in Houston.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Duluth (Monthly) Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$961$1,261+$300+31.2%
Food & Groceries$358$321-$37-10.3%
Transportation$1,081$1,015-$66-6.1%
Healthcare$442$422-$20-4.5%
Other Necessities$354$480+$126+35.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,175$1,735-$440-20.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$300/mo (31.2%)
Duluth: $961/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$290/mo (24.0%)
Duluth: $1,207/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$2.31/hr (10.8%)
Duluth: $21.44/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.29/hr (-1.4%)
Duluth: $20.87/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Duluth Median Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$85,930$119,600+$33,670 (+39.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$96,940$99,830+$2,890 (+3.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$96,550$99,510+$2,960 (+3.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$77,400$85,090+$7,690 (+9.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$103,500$129,440+$25,940 (+25.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$82,700$59,180-$23,520 (-28.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$126,800$166,910+$40,110 (+31.6%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$83,380$63,180-$20,200 (-24.2%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$59,920$46,630-$13,290 (-22.2%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$108,980$103,530-$5,450 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$113,360$135,880+$22,520 (+19.9%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$57,410$57,940+$530 (+0.9%)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

Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Relocation FAQs

About $110,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.9 in Duluth, MN-WI, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Duluth, MN-WI
Relocation: Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Overview

Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Duluth, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to match $100,000 in Duluth, MN-WI?

About $110,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.9 in Duluth, MN-WI, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX cheaper than Duluth, MN-WI?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 10.8% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Duluth, MN-WI. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.