2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL

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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$94,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-5.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$2,191
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,216
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,025/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

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

COL 105.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$2,614
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $76,566
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $61,818
Target Market
Destination Location

Peoria, IL

COL 99.6
Gross Parity Income $94,200
Federal Income Tax -$11,894
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,206
State Income Tax -$4,518
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $70,582
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,532
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,050

EPI family budgets put living costs 5.8% lower in Peoria, IL than in New Orleans-Metairie, LA, so $100,000 in New Orleans goes about as far as $94,200 in Peoria. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,229 a month in New Orleans and $961 in Peoria, $3,216 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $2,191 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Peoria. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,025 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $47,290 in New Orleans and $49,590 in Peoria.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category New Orleans-Metairie (Monthly) Peoria (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,229$961-$268-21.8%
Food & Groceries$365$353-$12-3.3%
Transportation$955$1,052+$97+10.2%
Healthcare$457$590+$133+29.1%
Other Necessities$446$332-$114-25.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,953$2,135+$182+9.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$268/mo (-21.8%)
New Orleans-Metairie: $1,229/mo Peoria: $961/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$268/mo (-18.1%)
New Orleans-Metairie: $1,480/mo Peoria: $1,212/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$1.37/hr (-5.9%)
New Orleans-Metairie: $23.39/hr Peoria: $22.02/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.75/hr (3.5%)
New Orleans-Metairie: $21.16/hr Peoria: $21.91/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector New Orleans-Metairie Median Peoria Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$81,850$81,010-$840 (-1.0%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$105,110$98,290-$6,820 (-6.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$77,940$79,540+$1,600 (+2.1%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$63,270$58,960-$4,310 (-6.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$134,110$155,840+$21,730 (+16.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$62,490$80,460+$17,970 (+28.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$85,410$123,730+$38,320 (+44.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$106,950$130,590+$23,640 (+22.1%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$120,700$110,510-$10,190 (-8.4%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$60,360$56,770-$3,590 (-5.9%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$61,560$74,780+$13,220 (+21.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$95,100$96,530+$1,430 (+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

New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL Relocation FAQs

About $94,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (105.8 in New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Peoria, IL to New Orleans-Metairie, LA
Relocation: New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL Overview

New Orleans-Metairie, LA to Peoria, IL: 2026 federal, state and local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Peoria, IL to match $100,000 in New Orleans-Metairie, LA?

About $94,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (105.8 in New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Peoria, IL cheaper than New Orleans-Metairie, LA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 5.8% lower in Peoria, IL than in New Orleans-Metairie, LA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.