Can a Journalist afford to live in Memphis?

Excellent40% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Journalist · Memphis
$57,312
Income tax (~18% effective)
United States
– $10,085
Take-home pay
$3,936/mo
$47,227
Living costs (1 person)
$2,380/mo · derived
– $28,560
Savings potential
$1,556/mo · 40% of take-home
$18,667

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

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

How we calculated this

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

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~18%). 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.