San Francisco vs Austin: where does a security engineer save more?
Best for saving: Austin — about $5,690/mo after taxes and living costs.
San Francisco US | Austin US ★ Best for saving | |
|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $188,453 | $141,154 |
| Take-home / mo | $9,601 | $8,600 |
| Income tax | ~39% | ~27% |
| Living costs / mo | $4,400 | $2,910 |
| Savings / mo | $5,201 | $5,690 |
| Savings rate | 54% | 66% |
| 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 security engineer, adjusted per city.
• Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~39%, US ~27%).
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.
Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.