Mexico City vs Austin: where does a intellectual property attorney save more?

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

Mexico City
Mexico
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$75,362$200,938
Take-home / mo$5,021$11,571
Income tax~20%~31%
Living costs / mo$1,260$2,910
Savings / mo$3,761$8,661
Savings rate75%75%
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. Mexico ~20%, US ~31%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.