Can a Registered Dietitian afford to live in Los Angeles?

Comfortable20% of take-home left to save โ€” solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Registered Dietitian ยท Los Angeles
$82,085
Income tax (~29% effective)
United States
โ€“ $24,169
Take-home pay
$4,826/mo
$57,916
Living costs (1 person)
$3,860/mo ยท derived
โ€“ $46,320
Savings potential
$966/mo ยท 20% of take-home
$11,596

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

How we calculated this

โ€ข Salary: BLS OES median for Registered Dietitian, adjusted for Los Angeles.

โ€ข Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~29%). Official calculator.

โ€ข 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.