San Jose vs Austin: where does a physician assistant save more?

Best for saving: San Jose โ€” about $7,001/mo after taxes and living costs.

San Jose
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Austin
US
Median salary$229,133$149,404
Take-home / mo$11,341$9,020
Income tax~41%~28%
Living costs / mo$4,340$2,910
Savings / mo$7,001$6,110
Savings rate62%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 physician assistant, 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.