San Jose vs Austin: where does a network engineer save more?

Best for saving: San Jose โ€” about $6,910/mo after taxes and living costs.

San Jose
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Austin
US
Median salary$226,940$149,704
Take-home / mo$11,250$9,035
Income tax~41%~28%
Living costs / mo$4,340$2,910
Savings / mo$6,910$6,125
Savings rate61%68%
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 network engineer, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~41%, US ~28%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.