2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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 Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$130,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+30.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$9,060
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,390/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

Merrick County, NE

COL 96.5
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,670
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,510
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,300
Discretionary Cash Flow $66,210
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $130,200
Federal Income Tax -$19,982
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,960
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $100,258
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $81,898

EPI family budgets put living costs 30.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Merrick County, NE, so $100,000 in Merrick County goes about as far as $130,200 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $775 a month in Merrick County and $1,530 in Austin, $9,060 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,390 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,410 in Merrick County (BLS figure for the Grand Island, NE metro area) 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 Merrick County (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$775$1,530+$755+97.4%
Food & Groceries$320$334+$14+4.4%
Transportation$1,215$1,062-$153-12.6%
Healthcare$566$467-$99-17.5%
Other Necessities$293$585+$292+99.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,041$1,735-$306-15.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$755/mo (97.4%)
Merrick County: $775/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$803/mo (79.2%)
Merrick County: $1,014/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$6.44/hr (30.2%)
Merrick County: $21.33/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$3.21/hr (15.6%)
Merrick County: $20.57/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 Merrick County Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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

Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $130,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.5 in Merrick County, NE, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Merrick County, NE
Relocation: Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

Merrick County, NE to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Merrick County, NE?

About $130,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (96.5 in Merrick County, NE, 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 Merrick County, NE?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 30.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Merrick County, NE. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.