Can a Research Scientist afford to live in Atlanta?

Excellent41% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Research Scientist · Atlanta
$80,979
Income tax (~26% effective)
United States
– $21,287
Take-home pay
$4,974/mo
$59,692
Living costs (1 person)
$2,940/mo · derived
– $35,280
Savings potential
$2,034/mo · 41% of take-home
$24,412

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Research Scientist, adjusted for Atlanta.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~26%). 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.