2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID

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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$99,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-0.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,192
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$348
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$4,540/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

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

COL 107.4
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 -$15,132
Discretionary Cash Flow $64,048
Target Market
Destination Location

Coeur d'Alene, ID

COL 107.1
Gross Parity Income $99,800
Federal Income Tax -$13,126
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,635
State Income Tax -$4,181
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,858
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,480
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,378

EPI family budgets put living costs 0.2% lower in Coeur d'Alene, ID than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, so $100,000 in Houston goes about as far as $99,800 in Coeur d'Alene. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,261 a month in Houston and $1,290 in Coeur d'Alene, $348 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,192 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Coeur d'Alene. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $4,540 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,410 in Houston and $47,750 in Coeur d'Alene.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (Monthly) Coeur d'Alene (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,261$1,290+$29+2.3%
Food & Groceries$321$387+$66+20.6%
Transportation$1,015$1,097+$82+8.1%
Healthcare$422$378-$44-10.4%
Other Necessities$480$431-$49-10.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,084+$349+20.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$29/mo (2.3%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo Coeur d'Alene: $1,290/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$10/mo (0.7%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo Coeur d'Alene: $1,507/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.06/hr (-0.3%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr Coeur d'Alene: $23.69/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.39/hr (1.9%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr Coeur d'Alene: $20.97/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Median Coeur d'Alene Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$119,600$80,270-$39,330 (-32.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$99,830$98,910-$920 (-0.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$99,510$86,950-$12,560 (-12.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$85,090$71,230-$13,860 (-16.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$129,440$126,870-$2,570 (-2.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,180$66,350+$7,170 (+12.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$166,910$123,450-$43,460 (-26.0%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$63,180$61,810-$1,370 (-2.2%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,530$111,620+$8,090 (+7.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$135,880$143,570+$7,690 (+5.7%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$46,630$50,000+$3,370 (+7.2%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$57,940$51,510-$6,430 (-11.1%)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

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID Relocation FAQs

About $99,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 107.1 in Coeur d'Alene, ID, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Coeur d'Alene, ID to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Relocation: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID Overview

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Coeur d'Alene, ID: 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 Coeur d'Alene, ID to match $100,000 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

About $99,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 107.1 in Coeur d'Alene, ID, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Coeur d'Alene, ID cheaper than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 0.2% lower in Coeur d'Alene, ID than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.