Registered Nurse · Atlanta, GA

33.5 hours of work

cover a month's rent on a one-bedroom in Atlanta for a registered nurse earning the median $48.31 an hour.

Comfortable Rank 9 of 21 for Registered Nurses (by rent share of take-home) · Metro median pay is 3% above this job's U.S. median

Median pay
$100,490
per year · $48.31/hr · 56,460 Registered Nurses
1-bedroom rent
$1,619
per month · HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Take-home
$6,627
per month after federal tax + FICA
Left after rent
$5,008
per month · yours · 24% of take-home

Hours of work = monthly rent ÷ BLS median hourly wage ($1,619 ÷ $48.31). After federal taxes the same rent takes 42.3 h of take-home pay. GA state income tax isn't deducted, so real take-home is a bit higher-taxed.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Registered Nurse
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Rate (median, hourly)$48.31
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$8,374
Federal income tax−$1,107
Social Security + Medicare−$641
Take-home$6,627
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,619

Rent costs

33.5 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

01 · Paycheck prints

A month at the median wage, line by line.

Rate $48.31 × 173.3 hours (2,080 ÷ 12) prints gross pay of $8,374.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Registered Nurse
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Rate (median, hourly)$48.31
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$8,374
Federal income tax−$1,107
Social Security + Medicare−$641
Take-home$6,627
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,619

Rent costs

33.5 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

02 · Taxes peel off

Federal income tax and FICA come off the stub.

2026 single filer, standard deduction. State income tax is not deducted here.

Federal income tax 2026, single−$1,107
Social Security + Medicare−$641

Taxes · $1,747 · peeled

03 · Rent tears away

A strip as tall as the rent.

33.5 h

of work at $48.31/hr pays $1,619, one month of a one-bedroom in Atlanta. The strip is drawn to scale: $1,619 of a $8,374 gross month (19% of stub).

Background tint · rent burden 24.4% of take-home

Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,619

Hours of work

33.5

HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026) · Atlanta metro

04 · What's left is yours

After tax and the 1-bedroom, this remains.

Comfortable

What's left · yours

$5,008

Take-home before rent$6,627
2BR instead (−$1,762)$4,865
vs HUD 30%-of-gross rule1.55×

05 · Floor plan

The stub becomes a one-bedroom.

Rent hatches rooms in ledger red, to scale against take-home. Toggle a 2-bedroom — both figures are precomputed HUD FMRs.

1-bedroom floor plan with rent hatched LIVING BED BATH KITCHEN

Hatched share is 24% of take-home (1BR).

06 · Street grid

How Atlanta compares for Registered Nurses

Hours of work to cover a one-bedroom's rent, all metros, fewest hours first.

Comfortable (rent ≤ 30% of take-home)Stretched (30–40%)Strained (> 40%)

Sorted by hours of work (1-bedroom HUD FMR ÷ median hourly wage), fewest first. Rank on the page still uses rent share of take-home.

# Metro Hours Rent Wage / hr 0 – 52 h (HUD 30% of gross)
01 Detroit 25.0 h $1,167 $46.77
02 San Francisco 25.5 h $2,290 $89.71
03 Houston 26.3 h $1,261 $48.00
04 Riverside–San Bernardino 26.5 h $1,705 $64.40
05 Minneapolis–St. Paul 28.8 h $1,427 $49.54
06 Phoenix 30.8 h $1,493 $48.48
07 Dallas–Fort Worth 31.5 h $1,536 $48.76
08 Philadelphia 32.0 h $1,558 $48.64
09 Atlanta 33.5 h $1,619 $48.31
10 Baltimore 34.0 h $1,625 $47.86
11 San Diego 34.8 h $2,335 $67.08
12 Seattle 35.4 h $2,180 $61.66
13 Chicago 36.8 h $1,780 $48.31
14 Los Angeles 36.9 h $2,402 $65.18
15 Denver 37.7 h $1,831 $48.62
16 Tampa 40.1 h $1,648 $41.09
17 Orlando 43.0 h $1,726 $40.17
18 Washington, DC 44.6 h $2,204 $49.38
19 New York 47.4 h $2,729 $57.56
20 Miami 48.3 h $2,121 $43.93
21 Boston 49.3 h $2,518 $51.05

The ledger

One month at the median wage, line by line, in dollars and in hours of work.

LinePer monthHours of workBasis
Gross pay$8,374173.3$100,490 ÷ 12
Federal income tax−$1,10722.9$13,278/yr ÷ 12
Social Security + Medicare−$64113.3$7,687/yr ÷ 12
Take-home$6,627137.2GA wage tax not deducted
Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,61933.5HUD FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Yours$5,008103.7take-home − rent

Hours = dollars ÷ $48.31; 173.3 = 2,080 hrs ÷ 12. May not sum exactly due to rounding.

Hours of work for rent, by pay level

Same $1,619 one-bedroom, different registered nurse paychecks.

10th · $37.26 43.4 h
25th · $39.66 40.8 h
Median · $48.31 33.5 h
75th · $52.25 31.0 h
90th · $63.57 25.5 h

Bar scale includes the HUD 30%-of-gross line at 52.0 h (52 h rounded). Same 1-bedroom, different paychecks (BLS wage percentiles ÷ 2,080 hrs).

Take-home vs rent

Monthly take-home pay: $6,627 1-bedroom Rent $1,619 Left $5,008 2-bedroom Rent $1,762 Left $4,865

Where Registered Nurses keep more after rent

This ranking uses rent share of take-home (rank 9 of 21), not hours.

≤30% of take-home30–40%>40%30% line

Sources & method

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — metropolitan areas — vintage: May 2025 estimates. File: oesm25ma.zip, retrieved 2026-10-06.
  2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD USER), Fair Market Rents, FY2027 — vintage: FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). File: FY27_FMRs.xlsx, retrieved 2026-10-05.
  3. Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (tax year 2026 brackets, $16,100 standard deduction) and SSA's $184,500 wage base, used for the take-home estimate.
  4. HUD FMR area: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA HUD Metro FMR Area (METRO12060M12060).
  5. Occupation: SOC 29-1141 Registered Nurses.

Take-home = annual wage − 2026 federal income tax (single filer, standard deduction) − Social Security and Medicare. State and local income taxes are not deducted. Wages are May 2025 estimates; rents are HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). Full details on the methodology page. Page data last rebuilt 2026-10-06.

Download this row as CSV