San Jose vs Austin: where does a chief operating officer save more?

Best for saving: San Jose โ€” about $17,243/mo after taxes and living costs.

San Jose
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Austin
US
Median salary$471,237$316,826
Take-home / mo$21,583$17,407
Income tax~45%~34%
Living costs / mo$4,340$2,910
Savings / mo$17,243$14,497
Savings rate80%83%
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 chief operating officer, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~45%, US ~34%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.