The US Cities Where Software Engineers Save the Most (2026)

San Francisco pays software engineers the most. But after state taxes and cost of living, it's not even the best city for your savings — Seattle is. And the gap comes down to one thing most salary comparisons ignore: state income tax.

We took the median software-engineer salary in each major US city (from BLS government payroll data), subtracted federal and state/local income tax, then subtracted a single professional's baseline cost of living. What's left is monthly savings potential — the disposable income you could put toward savings or investing after the essentials.

The result flips the usual ranking. A San Francisco engineer earns ~$240,000 to Seattle's ~$202,000 — but Washington State has no income tax, while California takes about 8.5%. Once you count that, Seattle quietly comes out ahead.

The ranking: monthly savings potential

Median software-engineer salary (BLS OEWS), after federal + state/local tax, minus a single professional's baseline monthly costs.

Rank	City	Median salary	Take-home	Living costs	Savings potential	Rate
1	Seattle, WA	$202,359	$139,712	$3,980/mo	$7,663/mo	66%
2	San Francisco, CA	$240,759	$141,797	$4,400/mo	$7,416/mo	63%
3	Washington, DC	$212,359	$135,088	$3,980/mo	$7,277/mo	65%
4	Boston, MA	$202,539	$129,694	$3,920/mo	$6,888/mo	64%
5	San Jose, CA	$225,626	$134,348	$4,340/mo	$6,856/mo	61%
6	Miami, FL	$172,124	$121,571	$3,360/mo	$6,771/mo	67%
7	Austin, TX	$159,836	$114,464	$2,910/mo	$6,629/mo	69%
8	Dallas, TX	$150,470	$108,884	$2,860/mo	$6,214/mo	68%
9	Chicago, IL	$172,147	$113,063	$3,220/mo	$6,202/mo	66%
10	San Diego, CA	$190,772	$116,444	$3,580/mo	$6,124/mo	63%
11	Las Vegas, NV	$147,049	$106,811	$2,800/mo	$6,101/mo	69%
12	Denver, CO	$166,887	$111,229	$3,190/mo	$6,079/mo	66%

The hidden factor: state income tax

The cities punching above their salary weight all share one trait — no state income tax. Seattle (WA), Austin and Dallas (TX), Miami (FL), and Las Vegas (NV) let an engineer keep 5–9% more of every paycheck than California or New York, where state and local taxes stack up. New York City is the starkest example: NY state tax plus NYC's local income tax pushes the effective rate past 40%, even before cost of living.

Measured as a savings rate (savings as a share of take-home), the no-tax, lower-cost cities pull further ahead: Memphis, Austin, Las Vegas, and San Antonio all clear ~69–70%, while the high-tax coastal hubs sit in the low 60s. You keep both more dollars and a higher share of them outside the expensive coasts.

The takeaway for engineers: the highest salary is not the same as the highest savings. A Seattle or Austin offer can beat a higher San Francisco number once state tax and rent are in the math — which is exactly why so many engineers chase remote roles paying coastal salaries from no-income-tax states.

How we calculated this (and what it doesn't say)

These are planning estimates for a single professional, not a promise of what anyone actually banks:

• Salary: median software-engineer pay per city, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (1.1M+ employer payroll records) — not self-reports.
• Tax: federal + FICA and an estimated state/local effective rate for a single filer. Brackets are simplified; your deductions and filing status will shift the exact number.
• Living costs: a single professional's baseline monthly budget (rent for one, utilities, groceries, transport). Real spending rises sharply with family, lifestyle, and homeownership — so treat the savings figures as a ceiling, not a forecast.

Want the number for your own role and city? Use the salary vs. cost-of-living tool — it runs this same calculation for any job in any city, or compare two cities side by side.

Data sources: BLS OEWS (salaries), Official Salary tax + cost-of-living models. Methodology: /methodology. Figures are estimates, not financial advice.