Can a Petroleum Engineer afford to live in Phoenix?

Excellent64% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Petroleum Engineer · Phoenix
$126,361
Income tax (~28% effective)
United States
– $35,553
Take-home pay
$7,567/mo
$90,808
Living costs (1 person)
$2,720/mo · derived
– $32,640
Savings potential
$4,847/mo · 64% of take-home
$58,168

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Petroleum Engineer, adjusted for Phoenix.

• 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.