Philadelphia vs Austin: where does a site reliability engineer save more?
Best for saving: Austin — about $7,792/mo after taxes and living costs.
Philadelphia US | Austin US ★ Best for saving | |
|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $170,926 | $183,907 |
| Take-home / mo | $9,637 | $10,702 |
| Income tax | ~32% | ~30% |
| Living costs / mo | $3,020 | $2,910 |
| Savings / mo | $6,617 | $7,792 |
| Savings rate | 69% | 73% |
| 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 site reliability engineer, adjusted per city.
• Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~32%, US ~30%).
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.
Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.