2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock, 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 Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$116,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+16.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,289
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$6,696
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$2,407/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

Stillwater County, MT

COL 108.1
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,289
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,891
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,664
Discretionary Cash Flow $63,227
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $116,200
Federal Income Tax -$16,734
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,889
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $90,577
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $72,217

EPI family budgets put living costs 16.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Stillwater County, MT, so $100,000 in Stillwater County goes about as far as $116,200 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $972 a month in Stillwater County and $1,530 in Austin, $6,696 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,289 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $2,407 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,060 in Stillwater County (BLS figure for the Billings, MT metro area) 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 Stillwater County (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$972$1,530+$558+57.4%
Food & Groceries$351$334-$17-4.8%
Transportation$1,320$1,062-$258-19.5%
Healthcare$374$467+$93+24.9%
Other Necessities$381$585+$204+53.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,092$1,735-$357-17.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$558/mo (57.4%)
Stillwater County: $972/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$546/mo (43.0%)
Stillwater County: $1,271/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$3.86/hr (16.1%)
Stillwater County: $23.91/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.26/hr (5.6%)
Stillwater County: $22.52/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 Stillwater County Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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

Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $116,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (108.1 in Stillwater County, MT, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Stillwater County, MT
Relocation: Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Stillwater County, MT to Austin-Round Rock, TX compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to match $100,000 in Stillwater County, MT?

About $116,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (108.1 in Stillwater County, MT, 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 Stillwater County, MT?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 16.2% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Stillwater County, MT. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.