Can a Research Scientist afford to live in Columbus?

Excellent46% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Research Scientist · Columbus
$75,356
Income tax (~24% effective)
United States
– $17,744
Take-home pay
$4,801/mo
$57,612
Living costs (1 person)
$2,580/mo · derived
– $30,960
Savings potential
$2,221/mo · 46% of take-home
$26,652

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

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

How we calculated this

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

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~24%). 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.