Can a AI Safety Researcher afford to live in Austin?

Excellent51% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
AI Safety Researcher · Austin
$92,366
Income tax (~22% effective)
United States
– $20,539
Take-home pay
$5,986/mo
$71,827
Living costs (1 person)
$2,910/mo · curated
– $34,920
Savings potential
$3,076/mo · 51% of take-home
$36,907

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Monthly cost breakdown · Austin

Rent (1-bed)$1,600
Groceries$380
Dining out$280
Transport$200
Utilities$140
Entertainment$180

No state income tax. Lower cost than coastal cities but rising fast.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Austin? →Compare Austin with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for AI Safety Researcher, adjusted for Austin.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~22%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: hand-curated local budget for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.