Can a Research Scientist afford to live in Denver?

Excellent47% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Research Scientist · Denver
$98,842
Income tax (~27% effective)
United States
– $26,968
Take-home pay
$5,990/mo
$71,874
Living costs (1 person)
$3,190/mo · derived
– $38,280
Savings potential
$2,800/mo · 47% of take-home
$33,594

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

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

How we calculated this

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

• 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.