2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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 El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$140,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+40.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$6,732
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$6,732/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

El Paso, TX

COL 89.5
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 -$11,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $67,552
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $140,200
Federal Income Tax -$22,382
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$10,725
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $107,093
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $88,733

EPI family budgets put living costs 40.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in El Paso, TX, so $100,000 in El Paso goes about as far as $140,200 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $969 a month in El Paso and $1,530 in Austin, $6,732 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 $6,732 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $39,510 in El Paso and $56,950 in Austin.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category El Paso (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$969$1,530+$561+57.9%
Food & Groceries$308$334+$26+8.4%
Transportation$1,019$1,062+$43+4.2%
Healthcare$417$467+$50+12.0%
Other Necessities$350$585+$235+67.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$561/mo (57.9%)
El Paso: $969/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$671/mo (58.6%)
El Paso: $1,146/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$7.97/hr (40.3%)
El Paso: $19.80/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$6.36/hr (36.5%)
El Paso: $17.42/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector El Paso Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$77,770$117,850+$40,080 (+51.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$127,310$134,120+$6,810 (+5.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$86,100$97,890+$11,790 (+13.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$79,920$102,390+$22,470 (+28.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$65,990$83,120+$17,130 (+26.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$152,840$176,990+$24,150 (+15.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$107,310$151,760+$44,450 (+41.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$91,920$129,470+$37,550 (+40.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$48,140$60,390+$12,250 (+25.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$131,580$167,180+$35,600 (+27.1%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$114,160$164,920+$50,760 (+44.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$75,290$106,600+$31,310 (+41.6%)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

El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $140,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (89.5 in El Paso, TX, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to El Paso, TX
Relocation: El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

El Paso, TX to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in El Paso, TX?

About $140,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (89.5 in El Paso, TX, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX cheaper than El Paso, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 40.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in El Paso, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.