Can a Registered Nurse afford to live in Raleigh?

Excellent52% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Registered Nurse · Raleigh
$96,972
Income tax (~27% effective)
United States
– $26,374
Take-home pay
$5,883/mo
$70,598
Living costs (1 person)
$2,800/mo · derived
– $33,600
Savings potential
$3,083/mo · 52% of take-home
$36,998

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Registered Nurse, adjusted for Raleigh.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~27%). 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.