Can a Civil Engineer afford to live in Atlanta?

Excellent45% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Civil Engineer · Atlanta
$88,636
Income tax (~27% effective)
United States
– $24,205
Take-home pay
$5,369/mo
$64,431
Living costs (1 person)
$2,940/mo · derived
– $35,280
Savings potential
$2,429/mo · 45% of take-home
$29,151

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Civil Engineer, adjusted for Atlanta.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~27%). 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.