2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL to Dallas-Fort Worth, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$98,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-1.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,344
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,344/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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

COL 123.0
Gross Parity Income $98,700
Federal Income Tax -$12,884
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,551
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $78,265
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,432
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,833

EPI family budgets put living costs 1.3% lower in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, so $100,000 in Tampa goes about as far as $98,700 in Dallas. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,648 a month in Tampa and $1,536 in Dallas, $1,344 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 $1,344 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $48,940 in Tampa and $51,440 in Dallas.

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) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,648$1,536-$112-6.8%
Food & Groceries$376$342-$34-9.0%
Transportation$950$1,011+$61+6.4%
Healthcare$472$459-$13-2.8%
Other Necessities$603$582-$21-3.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$112/mo (-6.8%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,648/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$110/mo (-5.7%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $1,917/mo Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.34/hr (-1.2%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $27.54/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.50/hr (-2.1%)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: $23.42/hr Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$103,670$111,010+$7,340 (+7.1%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$85,470$101,420+$15,950 (+18.7%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$130,450$133,290+$2,840 (+2.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$97,780$98,900+$1,120 (+1.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$78,990$82,620+$3,630 (+4.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$168,470$173,810+$5,340 (+3.2%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$157,480$169,200+$11,720 (+7.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$132,010$144,290+$12,280 (+9.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$95,840$102,860+$7,020 (+7.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$57,450$59,010+$1,560 (+2.7%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$124,980$121,640-$3,340 (-2.7%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$106,330$127,360+$21,030 (+19.8%)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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Relocation FAQs

About $98,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Relocation: Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Overview

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to match $100,000 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?

About $98,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (124.5 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, 123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX cheaper than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 1.3% lower in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX than in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.