Tech Cities Index

Ranking the best tech cities in the world based on local purchasing power for software engineers.

🌍 122 Cities
💰 Real Salary Data
📊 Live Cost of Living Data
Filter cities — narrow down by city, country, or region
Sort by — order cities by metric
Show only cities that are — select metrics to match or beat your base city
Seattle
1
North America

Seattle

WA, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Seattle is 196% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
58% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$245K
+$188K (+327%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
29%
Net
$174K
+$137K (+367%) vs Madrid
Oakland
2
North America

Oakland

CA, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Oakland is 192% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
53% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$269K
+$211K (+369%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
38%
Net
$167K
+$130K (+349%) vs Madrid
Austin
3
North America

Austin

TX, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Austin is 189% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
18% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$178K
+$120K (+210%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
29%
Net
$127K
+$90K (+241%) vs Madrid
Portland
4
North America

Portland

OR, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Portland is 153% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
27% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$185K
+$128K (+223%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
35%
Net
$119K
+$82K (+221%) vs Madrid
San Francisco
5
North America

San Francisco

CA, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in San Francisco is 153% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
81% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$269K
+$211K (+369%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
37%
Net
$170K
+$133K (+356%) vs Madrid
San Jose
6
North America

San Jose

CA, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in San Jose is 134% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
67% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$230K
+$173K (+301%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
37%
Net
$146K
+$108K (+291%) vs Madrid
Pittsburgh
7
North America

Pittsburgh

PA, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Pittsburgh is 128% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
11% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$130K
+$73K (+127%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
28%
Net
$94K
+$57K (+153%) vs Madrid
Salt Lake City
8
North America

Salt Lake City

UT, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Salt Lake City is 124% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
8% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$135K
+$78K (+135%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
33%
Net
$90K
+$53K (+142%) vs Madrid
Denver
9
North America

Denver

CO, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Denver is 122% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
31% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$161K
+$104K (+181%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
33%
Net
$108K
+$71K (+190%) vs Madrid
Las Vegas
10
North America

Las Vegas

NV, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Las Vegas is 121% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
12% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$129K
+$72K (+125%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
29%
Net
$92K
+$55K (+148%) vs Madrid
Beijing
11
Asia

Beijing

China

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Beijing is 118% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
37% cheaper than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$84K
+$26K (+46%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
39%
Net
$51K
+$14K (+38%) vs Madrid
Saint Louis
12
North America

Saint Louis

MO, United States

Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
An engineer in Saint Louis is 118% better off vs in Madrid
Cost of Living
6% more expensive than Madrid
Median Software Engineer Salary
Gross
$121K
+$64K (+111%) vs Madrid
Tax Rate
29%
Net
$86K
+$49K (+130%) vs Madrid