Can a Airline Pilot afford to live in Houston?

Excellent76% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Airline Pilot · Houston
$193,945
Income tax (~31% effective)
United States
– $59,343
Take-home pay
$11,217/mo
$134,602
Living costs (1 person)
$2,740/mo · derived
– $32,880
Savings potential
$8,477/mo · 76% of take-home
$101,722

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Airline Pilot, adjusted for Houston.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~31%). 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.