Costs
How cost of living changes tech salaries in Austin and Atlanta
This salary guide compares Austin and Atlanta tech pay with Silicon Valley after housing, transport, and state taxes are counted for real take-home pay.
What to take away
- Austin usually leaves a software developer with more spending money than the San Jose metro, even though its BLS median pay is roughly a third lower.
- Atlanta finishes close behind Austin. Its median pay is lower and Georgia taxes wages, but housing sits near the national average.
- Housing is the deciding line. San Jose housing runs about three times the national baseline, Austin about 135, Atlanta about 100.
- Compare after-tax pay minus local housing, transport and food. Nominal salary rankings rarely survive that subtraction.
The six-step adjustment, worked on BLS medians
One subtraction answers the question. Take after-tax pay, then subtract local living costs. The method travels to any occupation and any pair of metros.
- Start with the BLS metro median gross pay. Software developers (SOC 15-1252) sit near $200,000 in the San Jose metro, $135,000 in Austin and $125,000 in Atlanta.
- Subtract federal income tax and payroll tax. About 26 percent in the San Jose metro, 25 percent in Austin and Atlanta. The IRS Publication 15 and SSA wage limits guide shows where the wage base caps payroll tax for high earners.
- Subtract state income tax. Roughly $14,000 in California, nothing in Texas, about $6,500 in Georgia.
- Subtract annual housing. About $60,000 in the San Jose metro, $27,000 in Austin, $22,000 in Atlanta.
- Subtract transport and food. About $14,000 in the San Jose metro, $12,000 in Austin, $11,000 in Atlanta.
- Compare what is left.
Totals are rounded, and the figures are BLS metro medians plus published cost indices.
The six-step adjustment
Gross median
- San Jose metro
- $200,000
- Austin
- $135,000
- Atlanta
- $125,000
After tax
- San Jose metro
- about $134,000
- Austin
- about $101,000
- Atlanta
- about $88,000
After housing, transport and food
- San Jose metro
- about $60,000
- Austin
- about $62,000
- Atlanta
- about $55,000
Austin edges out the San Jose metro on discretionary income despite gross pay that is about a third lower. Atlanta trails by about $7,000.
Discretionary income after costs
San Jose metro
- Gross pay
- $200,000
- After tax
- about $134,000
- After housing, transport, food
- about $60,000
Austin
- Gross pay
- $135,000
- After tax
- about $101,000
- After housing, transport, food
- about $62,000
Atlanta
- Gross pay
- $125,000
- After tax
- about $88,000
- After housing, transport, food
- about $55,000
What the BLS metro medians show for Austin and Atlanta
These numbers come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics metro tables. Metro estimates carry margins of error for narrow occupations, so confirm the current release before you set a budget on them. The BLS explains how wage estimates are organized by geography and occupation in its overview of statistics by geography.
Austin software developers median near $135,000. Computer systems analysts sit near $103,000, and data scientists run near $120,000.
Atlanta software developers median near $125,000, about $10,000 below Austin. Information security analysts sit near $110,000, systems analysts near $97,000, and data scientists near $110,000.
The San Jose metro benchmark is higher across the board, near $200,000 for developers. San Francisco runs near $185,000, and the national developer median is near $133,000.
Use the median for the typical worker and the mean for an average that includes very high earners. The BLS glossary defines both terms and the other wage language used in these tables.
The BLS groups these roles under computer and mathematical occupations. Its overview of statistics by occupation explains how those groups are defined.
Austin tech pay has climbed as Oracle, Tesla, Apple and Amazon expanded local operations. More competition for the same engineers raises pay without reaching Bay Area levels.
If you are moving into an analyst role rather than engineering, the same geography logic applies. A business analyst salary by state comparison shows which markets let pay outrun local costs.
Cost indices for housing, transport and food
Cost indices
| Index, national average = 100 | Austin | Atlanta | San Jose metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | about 135 | about 100 | about 300 |
| Transport | about 100 | about 100 | about 125 |
| Food and groceries | about 95 | about 98 | about 115 |
| Overall cost of living | about 120 | about 105 | about 190 |
Housing settles the comparison.
Cost of living indices by metro
Austin
- Housing
- about 135
- Transport
- about 100
- Food and groceries
- about 95
- Overall cost of living
- about 120
Atlanta
- Housing
- about 100
- Transport
- about 100
- Food and groceries
- about 98
- Overall cost of living
- about 105
San Jose metro
- Housing
- about 300
- Transport
- about 125
- Food and groceries
- about 115
- Overall cost of living
- about 190
Transport and food matter far less. Austin and Atlanta are car-dependent metros, so both sit near the national transport baseline. Grocery spreads are small next to rent.
How Texas and Georgia tax the same salary
Texas levies no state income tax on wages. On a $135,000 Austin salary that is worth several thousand dollars a year against any state that taxes income.
Georgia applies a flat individual income tax, 5.39 percent for 2024 and 5.19 percent for 2025, with a standard deduction. A $125,000 Atlanta salary carries roughly $6,500 in state income tax.
California's effective rate on a $200,000 salary lands near 7 percent, about $14,000. Federal tax and payroll tax apply equally in all three markets, so the state rate is what changes the ranking. The wider pattern gets a fuller treatment in California, Texas and Washington tax your salary.
Property tax is the counterweight. Texas effective rates typically run 1.5 to 2 percent of assessed value, among the highest in the country. Georgia rates are lower.
One rule covers the comparison. Subtract Georgia income tax from an Atlanta offer before lining it up against an Austin offer.
Household size and rent versus buy
The housing line moves with household size more than the index suggests.
A single renter in a one-bedroom pays the full index figure. Two earners sharing a two-bedroom split it. Adding one adult to a household raises total housing cost by far less than double, so per-person housing typically falls by a third to a half.
Buying swaps rent for a mortgage plus property tax. Texas property tax on a $400,000 home at 1.5 to 2 percent runs $6,000 to $8,000 a year, which trims part of the no-income-tax advantage.
Commute distance is the other variable. Living two suburbs out cuts housing cost and adds transport cost.
Before signing, the guide to reading a US job offer covers equity, at-will terms and the clauses that shift take-home pay.
