2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Rapid City, SD to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$109,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+9.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$2,016
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,016/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

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

COL 107.4
Gross Parity Income $109,600
Federal Income Tax -$15,282
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,384
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $85,934
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,132
Discretionary Cash Flow $70,802

EPI family budgets put living costs 9.6% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Rapid City, SD, so $100,000 in Rapid City goes about as far as $109,600 in Houston. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,093 a month in Rapid City and $1,261 in Houston, $2,016 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 $2,016 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $46,270 in Rapid City and $49,410 in Houston.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Rapid City (Monthly) Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,093$1,261+$168+15.4%
Food & Groceries$362$321-$41-11.3%
Transportation$1,067$1,015-$52-4.9%
Healthcare$628$422-$206-32.8%
Other Necessities$350$480+$130+37.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$168/mo (15.4%)
Rapid City: $1,093/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$67/mo (4.7%)
Rapid City: $1,430/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$2.09/hr (9.6%)
Rapid City: $21.66/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.14/hr (-0.7%)
Rapid City: $20.72/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$130,410$119,600-$10,810 (-8.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$79,380$99,830+$20,450 (+25.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$74,700$99,510+$24,810 (+33.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$79,270$85,090+$5,820 (+7.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$91,840$129,440+$37,600 (+40.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$61,160$59,180-$1,980 (-3.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$160,280$166,910+$6,630 (+4.1%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$63,890$63,180-$710 (-1.1%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$120,560$103,530-$17,030 (-14.1%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$48,310$46,630-$1,680 (-3.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$134,010$135,880+$1,870 (+1.4%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$51,690$57,940+$6,250 (+12.1%)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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Relocation FAQs

About $109,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.0 in Rapid City, SD, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Rapid City, SD to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Rapid City, SD
Relocation: Rapid City, SD to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Overview

Rapid City, SD to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to match $100,000 in Rapid City, SD?

About $109,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (98.0 in Rapid City, SD, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX cheaper than Rapid City, SD?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 9.6% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Rapid City, SD. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.