Can a Physical Therapist afford to live in Chicago?

Excellent50% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Physical Therapist · Chicago
$108,575
Income tax (~29% effective)
United States
– $31,277
Take-home pay
$6,442/mo
$77,298
Living costs (1 person)
$3,220/mo · derived
– $38,640
Savings potential
$3,222/mo · 50% of take-home
$38,658

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Physical Therapist, adjusted for Chicago.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~29%). 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.