2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Billings, MT

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 Billings, MT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$58,400
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-41.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,012
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$19,164
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$23,176/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

Billings, MT

COL 105.8
Gross Parity Income $58,400
Federal Income Tax -$4,828
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$4,468
State Income Tax -$1,988
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $47,116
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,584
Discretionary Cash Flow $33,532

EPI family budgets put living costs 41.6% lower in Billings, MT than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $58,400 in Billings. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,132 in Billings, $19,164 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,012 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Billings. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $23,176 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $49,060 in Billings.

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) Billings (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,132-$1,597-58.5%
Food & Groceries$426$351-$75-17.6%
Transportation$693$1,076+$383+55.3%
Healthcare$748$374-$374-50.0%
Other Necessities$879$424-$455-51.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,092-$335-13.8%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,597/mo (-58.5%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Billings: $1,132/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,539/mo (-51.8%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Billings: $1,432/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$16.64/hr (-41.6%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Billings: $23.39/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$12.43/hr (-36.4%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Billings: $21.76/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 Billings Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$82,300-$37,420 (-31.3%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$96,980-$60,020 (-38.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$100,440-$66,390 (-39.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$75,780-$29,870 (-28.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$137,240-$83,770 (-37.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$85,540-$41,120 (-32.5%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$99,060-$25,330 (-20.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$129,280-$86,020 (-40.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$212,760+$19,920 (+10.3%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$101,200-$27,730 (-21.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$117,970-$97,180 (-45.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$80,980+$1,960 (+2.5%)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 York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Billings, MT Relocation FAQs

About $58,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 105.8 in Billings, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Billings, MT: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Billings, MT to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Billings, MT Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Billings, MT: 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 Billings, MT to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $58,400. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 105.8 in Billings, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Billings, MT cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 41.6% lower in Billings, MT than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.