Can a Data Architect afford to live in Austin?

Excellent71% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Data Architect · Austin
$169,668
Income tax (~29% effective)
United States
– $49,498
Take-home pay
$10,014/mo
$120,170
Living costs (1 person)
$2,910/mo · curated
– $34,920
Savings potential
$7,104/mo · 71% of take-home
$85,250

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 Data Architect, adjusted for Austin.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~29%). 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.