Can a Surgeon afford to live in Los Angeles?
Excellent81% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Surgeon · Los Angeles
$452,065
Income tax (~45% effective)
United States
– $202,223
Take-home pay
$20,820/mo
$249,842
Living costs (1 person)
$3,860/mo · derived
– $46,320
Savings potential
$16,960/mo · 81% of take-home
$203,522
Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.
Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Los Angeles? →Compare Los Angeles with another city →
How we calculated this
• Salary: BLS OES median for Surgeon, adjusted for Los Angeles.
• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~45%). 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.