Singapore vs Austin: where does a software engineer save more?

Best for saving: Austin โ€” about $6,629/mo after taxes and living costs.

Singapore
Singapore
Austin
US
โ˜… Best for saving
Median salary$72,461$159,836
Take-home / mo$5,601$9,539
Income tax~7%~28%
Living costs / mo$2,605$2,910
Savings / mo$2,996$6,629
Savings rate53%69%
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 software engineer, adjusted per city.

โ€ข Tax: each country's single-filer effective rate (e.g. Singapore ~7%, US ~28%).

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

Estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026.