Can a Firefighter afford to live in Cleveland?

Comfortable26% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Firefighter · Cleveland
$50,066
Income tax (~20% effective)
United States
– $10,018
Take-home pay
$3,337/mo
$40,048
Living costs (1 person)
$2,460/mo · derived
– $29,520
Savings potential
$877/mo · 26% of take-home
$10,528

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Firefighter, adjusted for Cleveland.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~20%). 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.