2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Houston-Pasadena, TX to Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI

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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$107,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+7.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$5,277
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$1,992
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$7,269/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

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

COL 115.8
Gross Parity Income $107,800
Federal Income Tax -$14,886
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,247
State Income Tax -$5,807
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $78,860
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$17,124
Discretionary Cash Flow $61,736

EPI family budgets put living costs 7.8% higher in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, so $100,000 in Houston goes about as far as $107,800 in Minneapolis. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,261 a month in Houston and $1,427 in Minneapolis, $1,992 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,277 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Minneapolis. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $7,269 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,410 in Houston and $59,320 in Minneapolis.

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) Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,261$1,427+$166+13.2%
Food & Groceries$321$405+$84+26.2%
Transportation$1,015$1,061+$46+4.5%
Healthcare$422$361-$61-14.5%
Other Necessities$480$505+$25+5.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,175+$440+25.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$166/mo (13.2%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $1,427/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$237/mo (15.8%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $1,734/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$1.85/hr (7.8%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $25.60/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$4.69/hr (22.8%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $25.27/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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$119,600$103,570-$16,030 (-13.4%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$99,830$103,040+$3,210 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$99,510$97,860-$1,650 (-1.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$129,440$130,920+$1,480 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$85,090$86,500+$1,410 (+1.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$166,910$165,620-$1,290 (-0.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,180$81,890+$22,710 (+38.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$101,120$101,560+$440 (+0.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$135,880$158,100+$22,220 (+16.4%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$46,630$58,900+$12,270 (+26.3%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$63,180$74,800+$11,620 (+18.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$172,160$178,080+$5,920 (+3.4%)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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Relocation FAQs

About $107,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 115.8 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Relocation: Houston-Pasadena, TX to Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI Overview

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Houston-Pasadena, TX to Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to match $100,000 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

About $107,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 115.8 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI cheaper than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 7.8% higher in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.