Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 98.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $71/mo.
- -$5,311
- BLS median salary lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
- 277 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.4:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,691
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 6% lower cost of living
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $71/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $5K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.6 to 98.1, so each dollar covers more in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $71/mo ($852/yr) from $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos sits #321 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is #329/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,311 lower ($77,100 → $71,789). Labor-market size: 4,480,500 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,265,270 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Illinois 58 (D, #31/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to see what you'd need to earn in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to maintain the same purchasing power.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026