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

Excellent74% of take-home left to save โ€” you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Physician (General Practice) ยท San Francisco
$363,590
Income tax (~43% effective)
United States
โ€“ $157,498
Take-home pay
$17,174/mo
$206,092
Living costs (1 person)
$4,400/mo ยท curated
โ€“ $52,800
Savings potential
$12,774/mo ยท 74% of take-home
$153,292

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

Monthly cost breakdown ยท San Francisco

Rent (1-bed)$2,800
Groceries$500
Dining out$400
Transport$200
Utilities$150
Entertainment$200

One of the most expensive cities globally. Rent alone is $2,800+/mo for 1BR.

How we calculated this

โ€ข Salary: BLS OES median for Physician (General Practice), adjusted for San Francisco.

โ€ข Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~43%). Official calculator.

โ€ข Living costs: hand-curated local budget for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.