2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$60,900
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-39.1%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$16,356
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$16,356/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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

COL 158.8
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 -$26,160
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,020
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin County, TX

COL 96.7
Gross Parity Income $60,900
Federal Income Tax -$5,128
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$4,659
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $51,113
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$9,804
Discretionary Cash Flow $41,309

EPI family budgets put living costs 39.1% lower in Austin County, TX than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, so $100,000 in Seattle goes about as far as $60,900 in Austin County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,180 a month in Seattle and $817 in Austin County, $16,356 a year less. 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 $16,356 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $72,610 in Seattle and $49,410 in Austin County (BLS figure for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area).

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (Monthly) Austin County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,180$817-$1,363-62.5%
Food & Groceries$421$314-$107-25.4%
Transportation$1,020$1,176+$156+15.3%
Healthcare$398$498+$100+25.1%
Other Necessities$826$346-$480-58.1%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,363/mo (-62.5%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,180/mo Austin County: $817/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,480/mo (-58.1%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,549/mo Austin County: $1,069/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$13.73/hr (-39.1%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $35.12/hr Austin County: $21.39/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$11.48/hr (-36.9%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $31.10/hr Austin County: $19.62/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Median Austin County 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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX Relocation FAQs

About $60,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 96.7 in Austin County, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin County, TX to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX Overview

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Austin County, TX: 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 Austin County, TX to match $100,000 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

About $60,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 96.7 in Austin County, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Austin County, TX cheaper than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 39.1% lower in Austin County, TX than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.