Can a AI Safety Researcher afford to live in Memphis?

Excellent48% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
AI Safety Researcher · Memphis
$67,669
Income tax (~19% effective)
United States
– $12,872
Take-home pay
$4,566/mo
$54,797
Living costs (1 person)
$2,380/mo · derived
– $28,560
Savings potential
$2,186/mo · 48% of take-home
$26,237

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Memphis? →Compare Memphis with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for AI Safety Researcher, adjusted for Memphis.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~19%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.