2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: St. Joseph, MO-KS 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 St. Joseph, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$131,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+31.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$8,076
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$4,406/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

St. Joseph, MO-KS

COL 95.7
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 -$10,284
Discretionary Cash Flow $65,226
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $131,300
Federal Income Tax -$20,246
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$10,044
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $101,010
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $82,650

EPI family budgets put living costs 31.3% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in St. Joseph, MO-KS, so $100,000 in St. Joseph goes about as far as $131,300 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $857 a month in St. Joseph and $1,530 in Austin, $8,076 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 $4,406 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $47,350 in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$857$1,530+$673+78.5%
Food & Groceries$340$334-$6-1.8%
Transportation$1,071$1,062-$9-0.8%
Healthcare$541$467-$74-13.7%
Other Necessities$326$585+$259+79.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,041$1,735-$306-15.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$673/mo (78.5%)
St. Joseph: $857/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$716/mo (65.0%)
St. Joseph: $1,101/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$6.61/hr (31.2%)
St. Joseph: $21.16/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$4.87/hr (25.8%)
St. Joseph: $18.91/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 St. Joseph Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$74,570$117,850+$43,280 (+58.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$98,570$134,120+$35,550 (+36.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$77,240$97,890+$20,650 (+26.7%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$89,670$102,390+$12,720 (+14.2%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$67,480$83,120+$15,640 (+23.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$130,170$176,990+$46,820 (+36.0%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$82,480$129,470+$46,990 (+57.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$106,130$151,760+$45,630 (+43.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$97,350$60,390-$36,960 (-38.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$123,420$167,180+$43,760 (+35.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$123,480$164,920+$41,440 (+33.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$77,230$106,600+$29,370 (+38.0%)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

St. Joseph, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $131,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (95.7 in St. Joseph, MO-KS, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

St. Joseph, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to St. Joseph, MO-KS
Relocation: St. Joseph, MO-KS to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

St. Joseph, MO-KS 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 St. Joseph, MO-KS?

About $131,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (95.7 in St. Joseph, MO-KS, 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 St. Joseph, MO-KS?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 31.3% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in St. Joseph, MO-KS. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.