2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Reno, NV

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 Reno, NV.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$103,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+3.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$2,388
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,388/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

Reno, NV

COL 111.1
Gross Parity Income $103,500
Federal Income Tax -$13,940
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,918
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $81,642
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$17,520
Discretionary Cash Flow $64,122

EPI family budgets put living costs 3.5% higher in Reno, NV than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, so $100,000 in Houston goes about as far as $103,500 in Reno. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,261 a month in Houston and $1,460 in Reno, $2,388 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 $2,388 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,410 in Houston and $49,660 in Reno.

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) Reno (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,261$1,460+$199+15.8%
Food & Groceries$321$390+$69+21.5%
Transportation$1,015$1,046+$31+3.1%
Healthcare$422$474+$52+12.3%
Other Necessities$480$488+$8+1.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$199/mo (15.8%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo Reno: $1,460/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$340/mo (22.7%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo Reno: $1,837/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.82/hr (3.5%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr Reno: $24.57/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$3.16/hr (15.4%)
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr Reno: $23.74/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 Reno Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$119,600$106,050-$13,550 (-11.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$99,830$107,520+$7,690 (+7.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$99,510$99,500-$10 (-0.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$85,090$82,370-$2,720 (-3.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$129,440$125,710-$3,730 (-2.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,180$72,800+$13,620 (+23.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$166,910$133,470-$33,440 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$63,180$77,810+$14,630 (+23.2%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$46,630$49,620+$2,990 (+6.4%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,530$113,640+$10,110 (+9.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$135,880$123,990-$11,890 (-8.8%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$57,940$58,800+$860 (+1.5%)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 Reno, NV Relocation FAQs

About $103,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 111.1 in Reno, NV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Reno, NV: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Reno, NV to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Relocation: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Reno, NV Overview

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Reno, NV: 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 Reno, NV to match $100,000 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

About $103,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 111.1 in Reno, NV, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Reno, NV cheaper than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 3.5% higher in Reno, NV than in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.