Houston vs Austin: where does a recruiter save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $2,431/mo after taxes and living costs.

Houston
US
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$68,541$80,911
Take-home / mo$4,619$5,341
Income tax~19%~21%
Living costs / mo$2,740$2,910
Savings / mo$1,879$2,431
Savings rate41%46%
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 recruiter, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~19%, US ~21%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.