Seattle vs Austin: where does a photographer save more?

Best for saving: Seattle โ€” about $1,060/mo after taxes and living costs.

Seattle
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Austin
US
Median salary$75,678$57,751
Take-home / mo$5,040$3,963
Income tax~20%~18%
Living costs / mo$3,980$2,910
Savings / mo$1,060$1,053
Savings rate21%27%
VerdictComfortableComfortable

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 photographer, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~20%, US ~18%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.