Can a Illustrator afford to live in Cleveland?

Comfortable26% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Illustrator · Cleveland
$49,794
Income tax (~20% effective)
United States
– $9,944
Take-home pay
$3,321/mo
$39,850
Living costs (1 person)
$2,460/mo · derived
– $29,520
Savings potential
$861/mo · 26% of take-home
$10,330

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 Illustrator, 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.