Hattiesburg → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Hattiesburg to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.6 to 98.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $805/mo.
- +$20,045
- BLS median salary higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
- 143 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.3:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,068
- DOL infant care higher / 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
- + $20K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 10% higher cost of living
- - $805/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 87.6 to 98.1, so the same paycheck buys less in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (ratio 1.12). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $805/mo ($9,660/yr) from $1,047 in Hattiesburg to $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
Hattiesburg still leads on 6 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). Hattiesburg is #19/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $20,045 higher ($51,744 → $71,789). Labor-market size: 54,020 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,265,270 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Mississippi scores 89 (A, #1/51) vs Texas at 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
- 92
- Property tax
- 75
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 76
- 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 Hattiesburg 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