2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Anaheim, CA

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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$124,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+24.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$934
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$11,700
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$12,634/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

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

COL 115.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$5,277
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $73,903
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$17,124
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,779
Target Market
Destination Location

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

COL 144.2
Gross Parity Income $124,600
Federal Income Tax -$18,638
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,532
State Income Tax -$7,199
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $87,612
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$28,824
Discretionary Cash Flow $58,788

EPI family budgets put living costs 24.6% higher in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA than in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, so $100,000 in Minneapolis goes about as far as $124,600 in Los Angeles. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,427 a month in Minneapolis and $2,402 in Los Angeles, $11,700 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $934 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Los Angeles. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $12,634 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $59,320 in Minneapolis and $55,850 in Los Angeles.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (Monthly) Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,427$2,402+$975+68.3%
Food & Groceries$405$367-$38-9.4%
Transportation$1,061$1,004-$57-5.4%
Healthcare$361$398+$37+10.2%
Other Necessities$505$690+$185+36.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,175$2,253+$78+3.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$975/mo (68.3%)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $1,427/mo Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $2,402/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$1,230/mo (70.9%)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $1,734/mo Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $2,964/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$6.29/hr (24.6%)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $25.60/hr Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $31.89/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$3.08/hr (12.2%)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington: $25.27/hr Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $28.35/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Median Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$103,040$135,560+$32,520 (+31.6%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,570$125,830+$22,260 (+21.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$86,500$94,360+$7,860 (+9.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$130,920$160,920+$30,000 (+22.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$97,860$108,310+$10,450 (+10.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$101,560$104,930+$3,370 (+3.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$165,620$175,310+$9,690 (+5.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$158,100$132,330-$25,770 (-16.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$178,080$204,370+$26,290 (+14.8%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$126,880$134,230+$7,350 (+5.8%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$81,890$73,810-$8,080 (-9.9%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$58,900$51,560-$7,340 (-12.5%)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

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Relocation FAQs

About $124,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (115.8 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, 144.2 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Relocation: Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Anaheim, CA Overview

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Minneapolis Metro, MN-WI to Los Angeles-Anaheim, CA 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to match $100,000 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?

About $124,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (115.8 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, 144.2 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA cheaper than Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 24.6% higher in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA than in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.