Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.6 to 98.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $757/mo.
- +$2,459
- BLS median salary higher in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
- 395 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.4:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $0
- 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
- + $2K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - $757/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 98.6 to 98.1 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $757/mo ($9,084/yr) from $1,095 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 1 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos sits #321 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is #248/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,459 higher ($69,330 → $71,789). Labor-market size: 3,246,270 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,265,270 at destination.
Both metros sit in Texas: state retirement score 65 (C, #19/51) - tax posture does not change with this move. 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
- 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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