Graph7: SF Bay area salaries around 170K. With COL, wouldn't that be barely making a profit? Seems you'd have to live with atleast 3 roommates to be able to shelve away some profits
This calculator [1] shows a take home salary of around 100k, including a full 401k contribution.
Here is a random Zillow listing [2] for a 1-bedroom apartment in the Marina District for 3.7k. This is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in SF, so surely you can find cheaper, roommates or not.
That would leave you with 4.5k per month for expenses like food, any debts, transportation, entertainment, etc. $150 per day.
Is that too little to shelve away some profits? When I last looked in other major metro areas, the cash in pocket at the end of the month was similar or worse, even if it was a smaller percentage of salary.
[1] https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#MBv4V...
[2] https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3425-Scott-St-APT-4-San-F...