2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$125,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+25.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,428
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$5,640
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$1,212/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

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

COL 100.5
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,428
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,752
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,720
Discretionary Cash Flow $62,032
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $125,000
Federal Income Tax -$18,734
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,563
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $96,704
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $78,344

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.0% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI, so $100,000 in Milwaukee goes about as far as $125,000 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,060 a month in Milwaukee and $1,530 in Austin, $5,640 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,428 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,212 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,160 in Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,060$1,530+$470+44.3%
Food & Groceries$364$334-$30-8.2%
Transportation$951$1,062+$111+11.7%
Healthcare$457$467+$10+2.2%
Other Necessities$405$585+$180+44.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,104$1,735-$369-17.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$470/mo (44.3%)
Milwaukee-Waukesha: $1,060/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$554/mo (43.9%)
Milwaukee-Waukesha: $1,263/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$5.55/hr (25.0%)
Milwaukee-Waukesha: $22.22/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.45/hr (6.5%)
Milwaukee-Waukesha: $22.33/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 Milwaukee-Waukesha Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$125,490$117,850-$7,640 (-6.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$97,360$97,890+$530 (+0.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$123,730$134,120+$10,390 (+8.4%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$100,350$102,390+$2,040 (+2.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$80,290$83,120+$2,830 (+3.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$161,220$176,990+$15,770 (+9.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,560$151,760+$7,200 (+5.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$156,100$167,180+$11,080 (+7.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$77,800$60,390-$17,410 (-22.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$83,120$129,470+$46,350 (+55.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,900$106,600+$3,700 (+3.6%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$130,700$164,920+$34,220 (+26.2%)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

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $125,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (100.5 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Relocation: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to Austin-Round Rock, TX 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?

About $125,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (100.5 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI, 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.0% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.