Can a Firefighter afford to live in Atlanta?

Comfortable20% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Firefighter · Atlanta
$57,415
Income tax (~23% effective)
United States
– $13,264
Take-home pay
$3,679/mo
$44,151
Living costs (1 person)
$2,940/mo · derived
– $35,280
Savings potential
$739/mo · 20% of take-home
$8,871

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 Firefighter, adjusted for Atlanta.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~23%). 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.