Austin vs San Francisco: where does a intellectual property attorney save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $8,661/mo after taxes and living costs.

Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
San Francisco
US
Median salary$200,938$252,462
Take-home / mo$11,571$12,299
Income tax~31%~42%
Living costs / mo$2,910$4,400
Savings / mo$8,661$7,899
Savings rate75%64%
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 intellectual property attorney, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~31%, US ~42%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.