Seattle vs San Francisco: where does a software engineer save more?
Best for saving: Seattle — about $7,691/mo after taxes and living costs.
Seattle US ★ Best for saving | San Francisco US | |
|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $202,929 | $208,801 |
| Take-home / mo | $11,671 | $10,486 |
| Income tax | ~31% | ~40% |
| Living costs / mo | $3,980 | $4,400 |
| Savings / mo | $7,691 | $6,086 |
| Savings rate | 66% | 58% |
| 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 software engineer, adjusted per city.
• Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. US ~31%, US ~40%).
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget per city.
Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.