Can a Illustrator afford to live in Raleigh?

Comfortable22% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Illustrator · Raleigh
$55,120
Income tax (~22% effective)
United States
– $11,998
Take-home pay
$3,594/mo
$43,122
Living costs (1 person)
$2,800/mo · derived
– $33,600
Savings potential
$794/mo · 22% of take-home
$9,522

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Illustrator, adjusted for Raleigh.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~22%). 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.