Can a Research Scientist afford to live in Las Vegas?

Excellent44% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Research Scientist · Las Vegas
$74,407
Income tax (~20% effective)
United States
– $14,823
Take-home pay
$4,965/mo
$59,584
Living costs (1 person)
$2,800/mo · derived
– $33,600
Savings potential
$2,165/mo · 44% of take-home
$25,984

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

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

How we calculated this

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

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~20%). 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.