Can a Game Developer afford to live in Phoenix?

Excellent67% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Game Developer · Phoenix
$139,767
Income tax (~29% effective)
United States
– $40,926
Take-home pay
$8,237/mo
$98,841
Living costs (1 person)
$2,720/mo · derived
– $32,640
Savings potential
$5,517/mo · 67% of take-home
$66,201

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Game Developer, adjusted for Phoenix.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~29%). 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.