Can a Illustrator afford to live in St. Louis?

Comfortable21% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Illustrator · St. Louis
$48,012
Income tax (~21% effective)
United States
– $10,084
Take-home pay
$3,161/mo
$37,928
Living costs (1 person)
$2,490/mo · derived
– $29,880
Savings potential
$671/mo · 21% of take-home
$8,048

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

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in St. Louis? →Compare St. Louis with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Illustrator, adjusted for St. Louis.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~21%). 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.