Dallas vs Austin: where does a commercial airline pilot save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $7,070/mo after taxes and living costs.

Dallas
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$147,073$168,958
Take-home / mo$8,902$9,980
Income tax~27%~29%
Living costs / mo$2,860$2,910
Savings / mo$6,042$7,070
Savings rate68%71%
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 commercial airline pilot, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~27%, US ~29%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.