Nashville vs Austin: where does a airline pilot save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $9,755/mo after taxes and living costs.

Nashville
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$199,084$222,989
Take-home / mo$11,478$12,665
Income tax~31%~32%
Living costs / mo$2,800$2,910
Savings / mo$8,678$9,755
Savings rate76%77%
VerdictExcellentExcellent

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 airline pilot, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~31%, US ~32%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.