Can a Policy Analyst afford to live in Houston?

Excellent42% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Policy Analyst · Houston
$69,750
Income tax (~19% effective)
United States
– $13,462
Take-home pay
$4,691/mo
$56,288
Living costs (1 person)
$2,740/mo · derived
– $32,880
Savings potential
$1,951/mo · 42% of take-home
$23,408

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Policy Analyst, adjusted for Houston.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~19%). 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.