Seattle vs Austin: where does a quality engineer save more?
Best for saving: Seattle — about $3,536/mo after taxes and living costs.
Seattle US ★ Best for saving | Austin US | |
|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $120,303 | $93,010 |
| Take-home / mo | $7,516 | $6,022 |
| Income tax | ~25% | ~22% |
| Living costs / mo | $3,980 | $2,910 |
| Savings / mo | $3,536 | $3,112 |
| Savings rate | 47% | 52% |
| 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 quality engineer, adjusted per city.
• Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~25%, US ~22%).
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.
Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.