2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: St. Louis, MO-IL 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. Louis, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$122,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+22.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,670
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$5,112
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$442/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. Louis, MO-IL

COL 102.3
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,670
Local / City Tax -$1,000
Net Annual Take-Home $74,510
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,248
Discretionary Cash Flow $61,262
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $122,700
Federal Income Tax -$18,182
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,387
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $95,131
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $76,771

EPI family budgets put living costs 22.7% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in St. Louis, MO-IL, so $100,000 in St. Louis goes about as far as $122,700 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,104 a month in St. Louis and $1,530 in Austin, $5,112 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,670 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $442 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,990 in St. Louis 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. Louis (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,104$1,530+$426+38.6%
Food & Groceries$373$334-$39-10.5%
Transportation$1,018$1,062+$44+4.3%
Healthcare$427$467+$40+9.4%
Other Necessities$411$585+$174+42.3%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,124$1,735-$389-18.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$426/mo (38.6%)
St. Louis: $1,104/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$468/mo (34.7%)
St. Louis: $1,349/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$5.14/hr (22.7%)
St. Louis: $22.63/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$2.71/hr (12.9%)
St. Louis: $21.07/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. Louis Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$93,140$117,850+$24,710 (+26.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$83,180$97,890+$14,710 (+17.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$129,030$134,120+$5,090 (+3.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$100,510$102,390+$1,880 (+1.9%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$78,880$83,120+$4,240 (+5.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$108,450$129,470+$21,020 (+19.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$167,130$176,990+$9,860 (+5.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$158,780$167,180+$8,400 (+5.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$123,870$151,760+$27,890 (+22.5%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$77,170$60,390-$16,780 (-21.7%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$101,100$106,600+$5,500 (+5.4%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$137,900$164,920+$27,020 (+19.6%)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. Louis, MO-IL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $122,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

St. Louis, MO-IL 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. Louis, MO-IL?

About $122,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, 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. Louis, MO-IL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 22.7% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in St. Louis, MO-IL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.