Married, two earners, kids in daycare. Here's what $200K–$500K actually leaves in five major tech hubs after taxes, housing, and childcare.
The offer letter says $300,000. The bank account says something else.
Everyone talks about tech salaries. Nobody talks about what happens after the IRS, your state, your landlord, and your daycare center all take their cut. This calculator does.
Married filing jointly, two earners. After federal + state taxes, FICA, health insurance, and housing — sorted by what's left for everything else.
1BR · market rent by city
| City | After-tax | Housing | Left / mo | vs. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | $185,181 | $19,200 | $13.8k | +6% |
| Seattle | $185,181 | $26,400 | $13.2k | +1% |
| Boston | $171,971 | $39,600 | $11.0k | −16% |
| San Francisco | $167,564 | $46,200 | $10.1k | −23% |
| New York City | $162,584 | $49,200 | $9.4k | −28% |
| National Avg | $175,181 | $18,000 | $13.1k | — |
A few things worth noting before you draw conclusions:
The FICA math is dual-earner. This models two people each earning half the household income. That matters — two separate Social Security wage bases means you hit the $176K cap twice, which significantly lowers FICA at higher incomes compared to a single-earner household.
Housing is right-sized for your family. A couple with no kids doesn't need a 3BR. The bedroom count adjusts automatically based on children, so you're comparing apples to apples across cities.
Daycare is the wild card. At $300K combined in San Francisco with two infants in daycare, you're looking at over $70K/year in childcare alone — after tax dollars. Austin at the same income looks like a different planet.
Washington and Texas have no state income tax. That's real money, especially at high incomes. Seattle and Austin benefit significantly from this, though housing costs partially offset the advantage in Seattle.
The point isn't to tell you where to live. It's to make the tradeoffs visible before you sign anything.
Most people are guessing about their money. You don't have to.
Potenza gives you the actual numbers behind your financial life — and shows you what moves the needle.
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