Waterbury-Shelton Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Waterbury-Shelton to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 99.8 to 98.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $64/mo.

-$682
BLS median salary lower in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
139 to 395
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
12.1:1 to 14.7:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$9,561
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.

Verdict
Unfavorable
Cost Index: 99.8 → 98.1
Rent Delta: +$64/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $64/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 99.8 to 98.1 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $64/mo ($768/yr) from $1,788 in Waterbury-Shelton to $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.

Waterbury-Shelton 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). Waterbury-Shelton is #87/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $682 lower ($72,471 → $71,789). Labor-market size: 153,560 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,265,270 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) vs Connecticut at 52 (D, #41/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Waterbury-Shelton
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 99.8
RPP 98.1
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Rent (2BR)
$1,788/mo
$1,852/mo
Waterbury-Shelton
Wages
$72,471
$71,789
Waterbury-Shelton
Crime
139 per 100K
395 per 100K
Waterbury-Shelton
Schools
12.1:1
14.7:1
Waterbury-Shelton
Childcare
$17,127/yr
$7,566/yr
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Environment
801 violations
35693 violations
Waterbury-Shelton

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Connecticut
52 D #41/51
Income tax
62
Property tax
50
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
86
Destination state · Texas
65 C #19/51
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 Waterbury-Shelton to see what you'd need to earn in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
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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