2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Fort Collins Metro, CO to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$97,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-3.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,692
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$708
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$4,400/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

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO

COL 129.4
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,692
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,488
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,068
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,420
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $97,000
Federal Income Tax -$12,510
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,421
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $77,070
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $58,710

EPI family budgets put living costs 3.0% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, so $100,000 in Fort Collins goes about as far as $97,000 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,589 a month in Fort Collins and $1,530 in Austin, $708 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,692 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,400 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $55,310 in Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins-Loveland (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,589$1,530-$59-3.7%
Food & Groceries$389$334-$55-14.1%
Transportation$1,093$1,062-$31-2.8%
Healthcare$454$467+$13+2.9%
Other Necessities$566$585+$19+3.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,043$1,735-$308-15.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$59/mo (-3.7%)
Fort Collins-Loveland: $1,589/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$58/mo (3.3%)
Fort Collins-Loveland: $1,759/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.85/hr (-3.0%)
Fort Collins-Loveland: $28.62/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.23/hr (-8.6%)
Fort Collins-Loveland: $26.01/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 Fort Collins-Loveland Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$105,770$117,850+$12,080 (+11.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,990$134,120+$130 (+0.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$101,310$102,390+$1,080 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,600$97,890+$290 (+0.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$89,340$83,120-$6,220 (-7.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$195,190$176,990-$18,200 (-9.3%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$121,610$129,470+$7,860 (+6.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$198,550$151,760-$46,790 (-23.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$61,410$60,390-$1,020 (-1.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$175,890$167,180-$8,710 (-5.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$189,690$164,920-$24,770 (-13.1%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$105,990$102,980-$3,010 (-2.8%)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

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $97,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (129.4 in Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
Relocation: Fort Collins Metro, CO to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Fort Collins Metro, CO to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Fort Collins-Loveland, CO?

About $97,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (129.4 in Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, 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 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 3.0% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Fort Collins-Loveland, CO. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.