2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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 Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$133,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+33.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$9,024
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,354/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

Polk County, MO

COL 94.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,670
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,510
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,336
Discretionary Cash Flow $66,174
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $133,500
Federal Income Tax -$20,774
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$10,213
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $102,513
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $84,153

EPI family budgets put living costs 33.5% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Polk County, MO, so $100,000 in Polk County goes about as far as $133,500 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $778 a month in Polk County and $1,530 in Austin, $9,024 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,670 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,354 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $45,780 in Polk County (BLS figure for the Springfield, MO metro area) and $56,950 in Austin.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Polk County (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$778$1,530+$752+96.7%
Food & Groceries$322$334+$12+3.7%
Transportation$1,160$1,062-$98-8.4%
Healthcare$473$467-$6-1.3%
Other Necessities$310$585+$275+88.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,041$1,735-$306-15.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$752/mo (96.7%)
Polk County: $778/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$855/mo (88.9%)
Polk County: $962/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$6.97/hr (33.5%)
Polk County: $20.80/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$6.46/hr (37.3%)
Polk County: $17.32/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $23.78/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Polk County Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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

Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $133,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (94.0 in Polk County, MO, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Polk County, MO
Relocation: Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

Polk County, MO to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Polk County, MO?

About $133,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (94.0 in Polk County, MO, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX cheaper than Polk County, MO?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 33.5% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Polk County, MO. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.