Memphis vs Austin: where does a game designer save more?

Best for saving: Memphis โ€” about $2,536/mo after taxes and living costs.

Memphis
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Austin
US
Median salary$73,558$65,060
Take-home / mo$4,916$4,409
Income tax~20%~19%
Living costs / mo$2,380$2,910
Savings / mo$2,536$1,499
Savings rate52%34%
VerdictExcellentComfortable

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 game designer, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~20%, US ~19%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.