2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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 Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$97,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-2.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,780
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$684
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$5,464/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

Worcester, MA

COL 128.7
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,780
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,400
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,044
Discretionary Cash Flow $55,356
Target Market
Destination Location

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

COL 125.6
Gross Parity Income $97,500
Federal Income Tax -$12,620
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,459
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $77,421
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,061

EPI family budgets put living costs 2.5% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Worcester, MA, so $100,000 in Worcester goes about as far as $97,500 in Austin. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,587 a month in Worcester and $1,530 in Austin, $684 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,780 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Austin. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,464 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $57,830 in Worcester 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 Worcester (Monthly) Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,587$1,530-$57-3.6%
Food & Groceries$386$334-$52-13.5%
Transportation$1,085$1,062-$23-2.1%
Healthcare$420$467+$47+11.2%
Other Necessities$563$585+$22+3.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,133$1,735-$398-18.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$57/mo (-3.6%)
Worcester: $1,587/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,530/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$226/mo (-11.1%)
Worcester: $2,043/mo Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $1,817/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$0.70/hr (-2.5%)
Worcester: $28.47/hr Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $27.77/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.62/hr (-9.9%)
Worcester: $26.40/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 Worcester Median Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,900$117,850+$5,950 (+5.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$146,950$134,120-$12,830 (-8.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$100,240$97,890-$2,350 (-2.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$100,290$102,390+$2,100 (+2.1%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$94,070$83,120-$10,950 (-11.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$193,890$176,990-$16,900 (-8.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$162,810$151,760-$11,050 (-6.8%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$104,140$129,470+$25,330 (+24.3%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$75,510$60,390-$15,120 (-20.0%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$170,940$167,180-$3,760 (-2.2%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$199,280$164,920-$34,360 (-17.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$122,180$106,600-$15,580 (-12.8%)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

Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Relocation FAQs

About $97,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (128.7 in Worcester, MA, 125.6 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX to Worcester, MA
Relocation: Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Overview

Worcester, MA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

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

About $97,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (128.7 in Worcester, MA, 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 Worcester, MA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 2.5% lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX than in Worcester, MA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.