2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$100,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+0.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,416
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,416/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

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

COL 124.5
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 -$19,776
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,404
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $100,800
Federal Income Tax -$13,346
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,711
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $79,743
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $61,383

EPI family budgets put living costs 0.8% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, so $100,000 in Tampa goes about as far as $100,800 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,648 a month in Tampa and $1,530 in Austin, $1,416 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 $1,416 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $48,940 in Tampa 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,648$1,530-$118-7.2%
Food & Groceries$376$334-$42-11.2%
Transportation$950$1,062+$112+11.8%
Healthcare$472$467-$5-1.1%
Other Necessities$603$585-$18-3.0%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$118/mo (-7.2%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,648/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$100/mo (-5.2%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,917/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$0.23/hr (0.8%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $27.54/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.36/hr (1.5%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $23.42/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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,670$117,850+$14,180 (+13.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$85,470$97,890+$12,420 (+14.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$130,450$134,120+$3,670 (+2.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$97,780$102,390+$4,610 (+4.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$78,990$83,120+$4,130 (+5.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$95,840$106,600+$10,760 (+11.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$168,470$176,990+$8,520 (+5.1%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$132,010$151,760+$19,750 (+15.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$157,480$167,180+$9,700 (+6.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$57,450$60,390+$2,940 (+5.1%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$106,330$129,470+$23,140 (+21.8%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$124,980$126,110+$1,130 (+0.9%)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

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $100,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Relocation: Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?

About $100,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 0.8% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.