Can a Materials Scientist afford to live in St. Louis?

Excellent51% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Materials Scientist · St. Louis
$82,303
Income tax (~26% effective)
United States
– $21,213
Take-home pay
$5,091/mo
$61,090
Living costs (1 person)
$2,490/mo · derived
– $29,880
Savings potential
$2,601/mo · 51% of take-home
$31,210

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 Materials Scientist, adjusted for St. Louis.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~26%). 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.