Can a Policy Analyst afford to live in Chicago?

Comfortable33% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Policy Analyst · Chicago
$76,986
Income tax (~25% effective)
United States
– $19,412
Take-home pay
$4,798/mo
$57,574
Living costs (1 person)
$3,220/mo · derived
– $38,640
Savings potential
$1,578/mo · 33% of take-home
$18,934

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 Policy Analyst, adjusted for Chicago.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~25%). 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.