2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA

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 York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$51,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-48.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$5,153
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$23,736
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$28,889/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 York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,860
Local / City Tax -$3,441
Net Annual Take-Home $70,879
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $38,131
Target Market
Destination Location

Benton County, IA

COL 93.6
Gross Parity Income $51,700
Federal Income Tax -$4,024
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$3,955
State Income Tax -$1,313
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $42,408
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,012
Discretionary Cash Flow $33,396

EPI family budgets put living costs 48.3% lower in Benton County, IA than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $51,700 in Benton County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $751 in Benton County, $23,736 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $5,153 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Benton County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $28,889 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $49,360 in Benton County (BLS figure for the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area).

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Benton County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$751-$1,978-72.5%
Food & Groceries$426$361-$65-15.3%
Transportation$693$1,250+$557+80.4%
Healthcare$748$393-$355-47.5%
Other Necessities$879$299-$580-66.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$1,997-$430-17.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,978/mo (-72.5%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Benton County: $751/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,989/mo (-66.9%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Benton County: $982/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$19.32/hr (-48.3%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Benton County: $20.71/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$14.91/hr (-43.6%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Benton County: $19.28/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Benton County 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

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA Relocation FAQs

About $51,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 93.6 in Benton County, IA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Benton County, IA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Benton County, IA: 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 Benton County, IA to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $51,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 93.6 in Benton County, IA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Benton County, IA cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 48.3% lower in Benton County, IA than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.