2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 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 Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$125,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+25.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$5,316
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$5,316/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

Rapid City, SD

COL 98.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$0
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $79,180
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,116
Discretionary Cash Flow $66,064
Target Market
Destination Location

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

COL 123.0
Gross Parity Income $125,600
Federal Income Tax -$18,878
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,608
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $97,114
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,432
Discretionary Cash Flow $78,682

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.6% higher in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Rapid City, SD, so $100,000 in Rapid City goes about as far as $125,600 in Dallas. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,093 a month in Rapid City and $1,536 in Dallas, $5,316 a year more. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays the same total tax in both metros. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,316 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $46,270 in Rapid City and $51,440 in Dallas.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Rapid City (Monthly) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,093$1,536+$443+40.5%
Food & Groceries$362$342-$20-5.5%
Transportation$1,067$1,011-$56-5.2%
Healthcare$628$459-$169-26.9%
Other Necessities$350$582+$232+66.3%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$443/mo (40.5%)
Rapid City: $1,093/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$377/mo (26.4%)
Rapid City: $1,430/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$5.54/hr (25.6%)
Rapid City: $21.66/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$2.20/hr (10.6%)
Rapid City: $20.72/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Rapid City Median Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$130,410$111,010-$19,400 (-14.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$79,380$101,420+$22,040 (+27.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$91,840$133,290+$41,450 (+45.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$74,700$98,900+$24,200 (+32.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$79,270$82,620+$3,350 (+4.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$163,860$173,810+$9,950 (+6.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$134,010$144,290+$10,280 (+7.7%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$160,280$169,200+$8,920 (+5.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$61,160$59,010-$2,150 (-3.5%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$100,420$127,360+$26,940 (+26.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$92,710$102,860+$10,150 (+10.9%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$120,560$103,550-$17,010 (-14.1%)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

Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Relocation FAQs

About $125,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.0 in Rapid City, SD, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Rapid City, SD
Relocation: Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Overview

Rapid City, SD to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to match $100,000 in Rapid City, SD?

About $125,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.0 in Rapid City, SD, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX cheaper than Rapid City, SD?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.6% higher in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Rapid City, SD. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.