Can a Materials Scientist afford to live in Raleigh?

Excellent51% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Materials Scientist · Raleigh
$93,969
Income tax (~27% effective)
United States
– $25,275
Take-home pay
$5,725/mo
$68,694
Living costs (1 person)
$2,800/mo · derived
– $33,600
Savings potential
$2,925/mo · 51% of take-home
$35,094

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 Materials Scientist, adjusted for Raleigh.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~27%). 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.