2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Wildwood Metro, 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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$125,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+25.1%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
$0
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$4,692
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$4,692/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

Wildwood-The Villages, FL

COL 100.4
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 -$13,668
Discretionary Cash Flow $65,512
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $125,100
Federal Income Tax -$18,758
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$9,570
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $96,772
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $78,412

EPI family budgets put living costs 25.1% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Wildwood-The Villages, FL, so $100,000 in Wildwood goes about as far as $125,100 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,139 a month in Wildwood and $1,530 in Austin, $4,692 a year more. 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 $4,692 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $45,830 in Wildwood 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 Wildwood-The Villages (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,139$1,530+$391+34.3%
Food & Groceries$385$334-$51-13.2%
Transportation$904$1,062+$158+17.5%
Healthcare$482$467-$15-3.1%
Other Necessities$442$585+$143+32.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,735$00.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$391/mo (34.3%)
Wildwood-The Villages: $1,139/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$493/mo (37.2%)
Wildwood-The Villages: $1,324/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$5.57/hr (25.1%)
Wildwood-The Villages: $22.20/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$2.62/hr (12.4%)
Wildwood-The Villages: $21.16/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 Wildwood-The Villages Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$97,360$117,850+$20,490 (+21.0%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$128,560$134,120+$5,560 (+4.3%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$77,110$97,890+$20,780 (+26.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$92,370$102,390+$10,020 (+10.8%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$77,300$83,120+$5,820 (+7.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$161,820$176,990+$15,170 (+9.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$109,780$129,470+$19,690 (+17.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$125,340$151,760+$26,420 (+21.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$52,960$60,390+$7,430 (+14.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$149,880$167,180+$17,300 (+11.5%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$147,180$164,920+$17,740 (+12.1%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$99,300$106,600+$7,300 (+7.4%)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

Wildwood-The Villages, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $125,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (100.4 in Wildwood-The Villages, FL, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Wildwood-The Villages, FL to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Wildwood-The Villages, FL
Relocation: Wildwood Metro, FL to Austin-Round Rock, TX Overview

Wildwood-The Villages, FL 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: Wildwood Metro, 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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL?

About $125,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (100.4 in Wildwood-The Villages, 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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 25.1% higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Wildwood-The Villages, FL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.