Can a Physician (General Practice) afford to live in Chicago?

Excellent76% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Physician (General Practice) · Chicago
$255,595
Income tax (~38% effective)
United States
– $97,227
Take-home pay
$13,197/mo
$158,368
Living costs (1 person)
$3,220/mo · derived
– $38,640
Savings potential
$9,977/mo · 76% of take-home
$119,728

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 Physician (General Practice), adjusted for Chicago.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~38%). 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.