Can a QA Engineer afford to live in Austin?

Excellent59% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
QA Engineer · Austin
$114,009
Income tax (~24% effective)
United States
– $27,819
Take-home pay
$7,183/mo
$86,190
Living costs (1 person)
$2,910/mo · curated
– $34,920
Savings potential
$4,273/mo · 59% of take-home
$51,270

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 QA Engineer, adjusted for Austin.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~24%). 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.