Cost of Living Calculator

This calculator helps you answer the question thousands of Americans ask every year: "What would I actually take home if I moved to Texas?" It combines cost of living adjustments with federal and state tax calculations to give you a complete picture.

Step 1: Cost of Living Adjustment

We use a housing-weighted cost of living index (national average = 100) to calculate the equivalent salary in your target Texas city. If your current city has an index of 150 and the Texas city has an index of 88, your $100,000 salary is equivalent to approximately $58,667 in purchasing power. This tells you the minimum salary needed to maintain your lifestyle.

Step 2: Tax Comparison

For both your current city and the Texas destination, we calculate take-home pay using 2026 federal tax brackets, the standard deduction ($16,100 single / $32,200 married), and FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare). For your origin city, we apply the state's effective income tax rate. For Texas, state tax is always $0.

Step 3: The Real Equivalent

The headline number shows the salary you'd need in Texas to exactly match your current take-home pay. Because Texas has no state income tax, this number is often significantly lower than your current salary — meaning you can take a pay cut and still maintain (or improve) your actual spending power.

The Texas Advantage

Texas is one of nine states with no personal income tax. Combined with a cost of living below the national average in most cities, it's a compelling financial case — especially for workers relocating from high-tax states like California (up to 13.3%), New York (up to 10.9%), or Oregon (up to 9.9%). Texas also has no state income tax on retirement income, making it attractive for long-term financial planning. Popular landing spots include apartments in Dallas, rentals in Austin, and Fort Worth apartments.

What About Property Taxes?

Texas does have higher property taxes — averaging around 2.1% of assessed home value compared to the national average of about 1.1%. For homeowners, this partially offsets the income tax savings. However, renters are less directly affected, as only a portion of property tax is passed through in rent. Texas also offers generous homestead exemptions (up to $140,000 for school taxes) that reduce the effective rate for owner-occupied homes. If you want to skip property taxes entirely, search for Texas apartments and let the landlord handle that bill.