Austin vs San Francisco: where does a qa engineer save more?
Best for saving: San Francisco — about $4,421/mo after taxes and living costs.
Austin US | San Francisco US ★ Best for saving | |
|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $103,070 | $169,878 |
| Take-home / mo | $6,587 | $8,821 |
| Income tax | ~23% | ~38% |
| Living costs / mo | $2,910 | $4,400 |
| Savings / mo | $3,677 | $4,421 |
| Savings rate | 56% | 50% |
| Verdict | Excellent | Excellent |
Single professional, after-tax. "Savings" = take-home − a baseline cost of living. A planning estimate, not financial advice.
How we calculated this
• Salary: BLS/OECD median for a qa engineer, adjusted per city.
• Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~23%, US ~38%).
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.
Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.