Moving from Iowa to Texas: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Iowa to Texas.
Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology
What changes when you move from Iowa to Texas
Iowa has a flat 3.8% income tax and Texas has no state income tax on wages. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,148 in state income tax in Iowa and $0 in state income tax in Texas. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax falls by $3,148 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $859 a month across Iowa's metro areas and $1,035 across Texas's (+20.4%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $49,899 in Iowa and $49,204 in Texas. City and county income taxes, which some localities add, are not included in these state-level figures; the metro routes below include them.
Metropolitan Corridors Between Iowa & Texas
Moving from Iowa to Texas on a $100,000 salary: pay $3,148 less in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $1,035 vs $859 a month (HUD FMR).
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $3,148 lower in Texas than in Iowa (3.1 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across Texas's metros is $1,035 a month, versus $859 in Iowa (+20.4%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by +$1,046 a year.
Iowa: Flat Tax, top rate 3.8%. Texas: No State Income Tax, top rate 0%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.