San Francisco vs Austin: where does a certified public accountant save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $3,219/mo after taxes and living costs.

San Francisco
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$122,052$94,883
Take-home / mo$6,743$6,129
Income tax~34%~22%
Living costs / mo$4,400$2,910
Savings / mo$2,343$3,219
Savings rate35%53%
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 certified public accountant, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~34%, US ~22%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.