Can a Journalist afford to live in Madison?

Comfortable33% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Journalist · Madison
$67,523
Income tax (~24% effective)
United States
– $16,410
Take-home pay
$4,259/mo
$51,113
Living costs (1 person)
$2,860/mo · derived
– $34,320
Savings potential
$1,399/mo · 33% of take-home
$16,793

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Journalist, adjusted for Madison.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~24%). 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.