2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lowell, MA

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 Lowell, MA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$74,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-25.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,521
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$10,776
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$14,297/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

Lowell, MA

COL 134.5
Gross Parity Income $74,300
Federal Income Tax -$7,516
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,684
State Income Tax -$3,495
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $57,605
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,972
Discretionary Cash Flow $35,633

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.7% lower in Lowell, MA than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $74,300 in Lowell. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,831 in Lowell, $10,776 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,521 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Lowell. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $14,297 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $66,620 in Lowell (BLS figure for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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) Lowell (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,831-$898-32.9%
Food & Groceries$426$421-$5-1.2%
Transportation$693$1,050+$357+51.5%
Healthcare$748$413-$335-44.8%
Other Necessities$879$608-$271-30.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,133-$294-12.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$898/mo (-32.9%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Lowell: $1,831/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$588/mo (-19.8%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Lowell: $2,383/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$10.29/hr (-25.7%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Lowell: $29.74/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.65/hr (-13.6%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Lowell: $29.54/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 Lowell 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 Lowell, MA Relocation FAQs

About $74,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 134.5 in Lowell, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

Reverse Route: Lowell, MA to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lowell, MA Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lowell, MA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Lowell, MA to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $74,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 134.5 in Lowell, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Lowell, MA cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.7% lower in Lowell, MA than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.