San Diego vs Austin: where does a executive chef save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $2,850/mo after taxes and living costs.

San Diego
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$90,750$88,365
Take-home / mo$5,250$5,760
Income tax~31%~22%
Living costs / mo$3,580$2,910
Savings / mo$1,670$2,850
Savings rate32%49%
VerdictComfortableExcellent

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 executive chef, 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.