Can a Journalist afford to live in Los Angeles?
Okay9% of take-home left to save — you cover costs with a little left over.
Median salary (gross)
Journalist · Los Angeles
$70,531
Income tax (~28% effective)
United States
– $19,681
Take-home pay
$4,238/mo
$50,850
Living costs (1 person)
$3,860/mo · derived
– $46,320
Savings potential
$378/mo · 9% of take-home
$4,530
Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.
Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Los Angeles? →Compare Los Angeles with another city →
How we calculated this
• Salary: BLS OES median for Journalist, adjusted for Los Angeles.
• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~28%). 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.