2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

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 Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$134,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+34.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,521
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$10,776
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$14,297/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

Lowell, MA

COL 134.5
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,780
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,400
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,972
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,428
Target Market
Destination Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Parity Income $134,600
Federal Income Tax -$21,038
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$10,297
State Income Tax -$7,207
Local / City Tax -$4,782
Net Annual Take-Home $91,275
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $58,527

EPI family budgets put living costs 34.6% higher in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ than in Lowell, MA, so $100,000 in Lowell goes about as far as $134,600 in New York. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,831 a month in Lowell and $2,729 in New York, $10,776 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,521 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in New York. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $14,297 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $66,620 in Lowell (BLS figure for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area) and $61,430 in New York.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Lowell (Monthly) New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,831$2,729+$898+49.0%
Food & Groceries$421$426+$5+1.2%
Transportation$1,050$693-$357-34.0%
Healthcare$413$748+$335+81.1%
Other Necessities$608$879+$271+44.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,133$2,427+$294+13.8%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$898/mo (49.0%)
Lowell: $1,831/mo New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$588/mo (24.7%)
Lowell: $2,383/mo New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$10.29/hr (34.6%)
Lowell: $29.74/hr New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$4.65/hr (15.7%)
Lowell: $29.54/hr New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Lowell Median New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

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

Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Relocation FAQs

About $134,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (134.5 in Lowell, MA, 181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lowell, MA
Relocation: Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Overview

Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to match $100,000 in Lowell, MA?

About $134,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (134.5 in Lowell, MA, 181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ cheaper than Lowell, MA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 34.6% higher in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ than in Lowell, MA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.