A cost of living comparison using tax-adjusted purchasing power data.
This is one of the biggest financial wins in the US relocation playbook. On a $90,000 salary, moving from NYC to Austin and keeping the same income gives you the purchasing power of roughly $155,000 in New York — a 72% increase. The math is straightforward: Texas has no state income tax (New York takes about 10.4% when you include city and state), and Austin's cost of living index of 121 is 35% below NYC's 187. Both factors compound in Austin's favor.
| Category | New York City | Austin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall COL Index | 187 | 121 | −35% |
| Median 1BR Rent | ~$3,200/mo | ~$1,700/mo | −47% |
| State + City Income Tax | 10.4% | 0% | −10.4 pp |
The numbers at two income levels tell the story clearly. At $60,000: your purchasing power in Austin is equivalent to earning about $103,000 in NYC. At $90,000: equivalent to about $155,000 in New York. The effect is this large because you're getting hit from both sides in NYC — higher prices on everything you buy, plus a larger tax bite reducing your take-home before you even spend a dollar. Remove both and the gap is enormous.
It's worth noting this doesn't account for any salary reduction you'd take by moving. If your employer cuts your pay when you go remote to Austin (some do), the math shifts. Run the exact numbers for your income using the tool below.
Remote workers keeping NYC salaries are the obvious winners here — the full financial gain lands in their pocket with no tradeoffs on the earnings side. But even people who'd take a modest pay cut to move often come out ahead; you can absorb a 20-25% salary reduction and still break even on purchasing power.
The harder questions are lifestyle ones. Austin is hot — genuinely hot, with summers that run June through September in the 95-105°F range. The city has grown fast and traffic has become a real problem; it's not a walkable city the way parts of NYC are. On the other side: no state income tax is a permanent structural advantage, Austin has a real tech and startup scene if you need local employment, and the cost of buying a home is dramatically more accessible than NYC even after recent appreciation.
Austin has one of the stronger tech job markets in the country outside of traditional coastal hubs. Apple, Tesla, Oracle, Dell, and a dense startup ecosystem have established real roots here. For remote workers, the job market is irrelevant — but for people who need local employment, tech, finance, and healthcare all have solid hiring. Less so for media, fashion, finance at the senior level, or industries that are still concentrated in New York.
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