New York vs Austin: where does a ai safety researcher save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $3,076/mo after taxes and living costs.

New York
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$79,460$92,366
Take-home / mo$4,583$5,986
Income tax~31%~22%
Living costs / mo$4,120$2,910
Savings / mo$463$3,076
Savings rate10%51%
VerdictOkayExcellent

Single professional, after-tax. "Savings" = take-home โˆ’ a baseline cost of living. A planning estimate, not financial advice.

How we calculated this

โ€ข Salary: BLS/OECD median for a ai safety researcher, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~31%, US ~22%).

โ€ข Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.