2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Great Falls, 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 Great Falls, MT.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$56,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-43.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,012
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$20,748
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$24,760/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

Great Falls, MT

COL 101.5
Gross Parity Income $56,100
Federal Income Tax -$4,552
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$4,292
State Income Tax -$1,880
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $45,376
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$12,000
Discretionary Cash Flow $33,376

EPI family budgets put living costs 43.9% lower in Great Falls, MT than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $56,100 in Great Falls. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,000 in Great Falls, $20,748 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 Great Falls. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $24,760 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $46,510 in Great Falls.

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) Great Falls (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,000-$1,729-63.4%
Food & Groceries$426$344-$82-19.2%
Transportation$693$1,022+$329+47.5%
Healthcare$748$459-$289-38.6%
Other Necessities$879$387-$492-56.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,092-$335-13.8%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,729/mo (-63.4%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Great Falls: $1,000/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,663/mo (-56.0%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Great Falls: $1,308/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$17.59/hr (-43.9%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Great Falls: $22.44/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$12.71/hr (-37.2%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Great Falls: $21.48/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 Great Falls Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$78,290-$41,430 (-34.6%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$88,780-$68,220 (-43.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$72,510-$33,140 (-31.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$131,420-$89,590 (-40.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$83,580-$43,080 (-34.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$95,690-$28,700 (-23.1%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$133,670-$81,630 (-37.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$177,930-$14,910 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$111,270-$103,880 (-48.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$76,960-$2,060 (-2.6%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$167,580$103,130-$64,450 (-38.5%)View Dossier
HVAC/R TechnicianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$77,990$60,670-$17,320 (-22.2%)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

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Great Falls, MT Relocation FAQs

About $56,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 101.5 in Great Falls, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

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

About $56,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 101.5 in Great Falls, MT, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

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

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 43.9% lower in Great Falls, MT than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.