2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to McAllen-Edinburg, TX

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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$49,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-51.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$8,301
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$23,076
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$31,377/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

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

COL 88.8
Gross Parity Income $49,000
Federal Income Tax -$3,700
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$3,749
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $41,552
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,672
Discretionary Cash Flow $31,880

EPI family budgets put living costs 51.0% lower in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $49,000 in McAllen. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $806 in McAllen, $23,076 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $8,301 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in McAllen. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $31,377 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $35,830 in McAllen.

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) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$806-$1,923-70.5%
Food & Groceries$426$281-$145-34.0%
Transportation$693$1,091+$398+57.4%
Healthcare$748$393-$355-47.5%
Other Necessities$879$333-$546-62.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$1,735-$692-28.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,923/mo (-70.5%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $806/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,954/mo (-65.8%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $1,017/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$20.40/hr (-51.0%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $19.63/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$17.53/hr (-51.3%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $16.66/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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$80,540-$39,180 (-32.7%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$74,570-$82,430 (-52.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$116,120-$50,710 (-30.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$64,470-$41,180 (-39.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$129,290-$91,720 (-41.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$69,910-$56,750 (-44.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$72,150-$52,240 (-42.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$133,750-$81,550 (-37.9%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$113,360-$79,480 (-41.2%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$73,620-$55,310 (-42.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$101,440-$113,710 (-52.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$46,930-$32,090 (-40.6%)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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Relocation FAQs

About $49,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 88.8 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to McAllen-Edinburg, TX Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to McAllen-Edinburg, TX compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

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

About $49,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 88.8 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 51.0% lower in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.