Tennessee cities compared
All 10 Tennessee metropolitan areas on the same $100,000 salary and the same $400,000 home. Jackson leaves you $9,696 a year better off than Nashville — and none of it is income tax, which is identical everywhere in the state.
Jackson to Nashville: $9,696 a year apart, same tax code
Tennessee has 10 metropolitan areas with a published price index, and on $100,000 with a $400,000 home they are not interchangeable: $89,653 of purchasing power in Jackson against $79,957 in Nashville — $9,696 a year, 9.7% of the salary, without leaving the state.
That gap is unusually easy to trust, because the income tax is identical in every row. Federal $13,170, FICA $7,650, Tennessee state income tax $0 — the state does not levy one, and no county or city in Tennessee levies its own. Two things move down this table and only two: what a house costs in property tax, and what everything costs at the till.
| Metropolitan area | Buys | Behind the best | Prices | Property tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jackson | $89,653 | best | 85.522 | 0.63% |
| 2Morristown | $89,533 | −$120 | 86.364 | 0.46% |
| 3Kingsport-Bristol | $88,769 | −$884 | 86.447 | 0.61% |
| 4Johnson City | $87,562 | −$2,091 | 87.928 | 0.55% |
| 5Cleveland | $87,544 | −$2,109 | 88.08 | 0.52% |
| 6Clarksville | $84,125 | −$5,528 | 90.947 | 0.67% |
| 7Chattanooga | $83,664 | −$5,990 | 91.464 | 0.66% |
| 8Knoxville | $83,425 | −$6,228 | 92.569 | 0.49% |
| 9Memphis | $81,974 | −$7,680 | 92.179 | 0.90% |
| 10Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | $79,957 | −$9,696 | 96.338 | 0.54% |
Purchasing power on a $100,000 salary with a $400,000 home: take-home after federal, FICA, Tennessee income tax and property tax, divided by that area’s price level. The income tax is identical in every row — the whole of the spread is property tax and the price level. Price index 100 is the US average.
Every one of these areas prices below the national average.
Property tax runs from 0.46% in Morristown to 0.90% in Memphis — on a $400,000 home that is $1,856 against $3,618 a year, a difference of $1,762. Each rate is that area's counties averaged and weighted by how many homes are in each, because a house pays the tax and a rural county of a few thousand homes should not weigh the same as an urban one of several hundred thousand.
The 45 Tennessee comparisons, resolved
Every pair of Tennessee cities, each on its own page with the full working, the break-even salary and the property tax bill house by house. Ordered by the population that could plausibly be choosing between them:
Memphis vs Nashville — Memphis by $2,017 a year. Price level 92.179 against 96.338; property tax 0.90% against 0.54%.
Knoxville vs Nashville — Knoxville by $3,468 a year. Price level 92.569 against 96.338; property tax 0.49% against 0.54%.
Chattanooga vs Nashville — Chattanooga by $3,707 a year. Price level 91.464 against 96.338; property tax 0.66% against 0.54%.
Clarksville vs Nashville — Clarksville by $4,169 a year. Price level 90.947 against 96.338; property tax 0.67% against 0.54%.
Kingsport vs Nashville — Kingsport by $8,812 a year. Price level 86.447 against 96.338; property tax 0.61% against 0.54%.
Knoxville vs Memphis — Knoxville by $1,451 a year. Price level 92.569 against 92.179; property tax 0.49% against 0.90%.
Johnson City vs Nashville — Johnson City by $7,605 a year. Price level 87.928 against 96.338; property tax 0.55% against 0.54%.
Jackson vs Nashville — Jackson by $9,696 a year. Price level 85.522 against 96.338; property tax 0.63% against 0.54%.
Cleveland vs Nashville — Cleveland by $7,587 a year. Price level 88.08 against 96.338; property tax 0.52% against 0.54%.
Morristown vs Nashville — Morristown by $9,576 a year. Price level 86.364 against 96.338; property tax 0.46% against 0.54%.
Chattanooga vs Memphis — Chattanooga by $1,690 a year. Price level 91.464 against 92.179; property tax 0.66% against 0.90%.
Clarksville vs Memphis — Clarksville by $2,152 a year. Price level 90.947 against 92.179; property tax 0.67% against 0.90%.
Kingsport vs Memphis — Kingsport by $6,796 a year. Price level 86.447 against 92.179; property tax 0.61% against 0.90%.
Johnson City vs Memphis — Johnson City by $5,589 a year. Price level 87.928 against 92.179; property tax 0.55% against 0.90%.
Jackson vs Memphis — Jackson by $7,680 a year. Price level 85.522 against 92.179; property tax 0.63% against 0.90%.
Chattanooga vs Knoxville — Chattanooga by $239 a year. Price level 91.464 against 92.569; property tax 0.66% against 0.49%.
Cleveland vs Memphis — Cleveland by $5,570 a year. Price level 88.08 against 92.179; property tax 0.52% against 0.90%.
Memphis vs Morristown — Morristown by $7,560 a year. Price level 92.179 against 86.364; property tax 0.90% against 0.46%.
Clarksville vs Knoxville — Clarksville by $701 a year. Price level 90.947 against 92.569; property tax 0.67% against 0.49%.
Kingsport vs Knoxville — Kingsport by $5,344 a year. Price level 86.447 against 92.569; property tax 0.61% against 0.49%.
Johnson City vs Knoxville — Johnson City by $4,137 a year. Price level 87.928 against 92.569; property tax 0.55% against 0.49%.
Jackson vs Knoxville — Jackson by $6,228 a year. Price level 85.522 against 92.569; property tax 0.63% against 0.49%.
Cleveland vs Knoxville — Cleveland by $4,119 a year. Price level 88.08 against 92.569; property tax 0.52% against 0.49%.
Knoxville vs Morristown — Morristown by $6,108 a year. Price level 92.569 against 86.364; property tax 0.49% against 0.46%.
And 21 more pairs of Tennessee cities, each with its own page.
Every Tennessee city, and what it can be compared with
The areas themselves, largest first. Each line has what defines that city on the two measures that matter here, and then every comparison it takes part in:
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin — 2.0m people across 14 counties. Price level 96.338, housing 104.626, property tax 0.54%. Compared with Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Memphis — 1.3m people across 9 counties. Price level 92.179, housing 79.807, property tax 0.90%. Compared with Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Knoxville — 920k people across 9 counties. Price level 92.569, housing 82.783, property tax 0.49%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Chattanooga — 569k people across 6 counties. Price level 91.464, housing 76.55, property tax 0.66%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Clarksville — 329k people across 4 counties. Price level 90.947, housing 73.801, property tax 0.67%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Kingsport-Bristol — 310k people across 5 counties. Price level 86.447, housing 56.496, property tax 0.61%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Johnson City — 209k people across 3 counties. Price level 87.928, housing 63.176, property tax 0.55%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Jackson, Cleveland, Morristown.
Jackson — 181k people across 4 counties. Price level 85.522, housing 56.567, property tax 0.63%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Cleveland, Morristown.
Cleveland — 127k people across 2 counties. Price level 88.08, housing 60.327, property tax 0.52%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Morristown.
Morristown — 121k people across 2 counties. Price level 86.364, housing 59.024, property tax 0.46%. Compared with Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jackson, Cleveland.
The counties behind each rate
Nobody pays a metropolitan area's property tax rate. They pay their county's, and the figures above are those county rates averaged and weighted by how many homes each county holds. Opened up:
Nashville averages 0.54% across 14 counties: Davidson County 0.62%, Rutherford County 0.51%, Williamson County 0.43%, Sumner County 0.53%, Wilson County 0.44%, Maury County 0.48%, Robertson County 0.52%, Dickson County 0.50%, and 6 more. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.41% in Macon County to 0.62% in Davidson County, which is $848 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Memphis averages 0.90% across 9 counties: Shelby County 1.03%, DeSoto County 0.64%, Tipton County 0.53%, Crittenden County 0.60%, Fayette County 0.35%, Marshall County 0.75%, Tate County 0.77%, Tunica County 0.44%, and 1 more. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.35% in Fayette County to 1.03% in Shelby County, which is $2,755 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Knoxville averages 0.49% across 9 counties: Knox County 0.48%, Blount County 0.50%, Anderson County 0.62%, Roane County 0.55%, Loudon County 0.40%, Campbell County 0.38%, Grainger County 0.51%, Union County 0.39%, and 1 more. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.38% in Campbell County to 0.62% in Anderson County, which is $934 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Chattanooga averages 0.66% across 6 counties: Hamilton County 0.67%, Walker County 0.78%, Catoosa County 0.69%, Marion County 0.44%, Dade County 0.62%, Sequatchie County 0.45%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.44% in Marion County to 0.78% in Walker County, which is $1,336 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Clarksville averages 0.67% across 4 counties: Montgomery County 0.67%, Christian County 0.71%, Trigg County 0.55%, Stewart County 0.52%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.52% in Stewart County to 0.71% in Christian County, which is $773 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Kingsport averages 0.61% across 5 counties: Sullivan County 0.63%, Hawkins County 0.56%, Washington County 0.51%, Scott County 0.68%, Bristol city 0.77%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.51% in Washington County to 0.77% in Bristol city, which is $1,010 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Johnson City averages 0.55% across 3 counties: Washington County 0.55%, Carter County 0.53%, Unicoi County 0.57%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.53% in Carter County to 0.57% in Unicoi County, which is $163 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Jackson averages 0.63% across 4 counties: Madison County 0.61%, Gibson County 0.68%, Chester County 0.54%, Crockett County 0.65%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.54% in Chester County to 0.68% in Gibson County, which is $558 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Cleveland averages 0.52% across 2 counties: Bradley County 0.51%, Polk County 0.56%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.51% in Bradley County to 0.56% in Polk County, which is $223 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Morristown averages 0.46% across 2 counties: Hamblen County 0.46%, Jefferson County 0.47%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.46% in Hamblen County to 0.47% in Jefferson County, which is $57 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.
Which is the limitation of every figure on this page, stated rather than buried: an area rate is an average, and your address decides what you actually pay. The county pages linked above carry the rate, the assessment basis and the source for each one.
Where Tennessee cities sit among the 380 in the country
A state ranking answers "where in Tennessee". It does not answer whether Tennessee is an expensive place to begin with, and the two questions have different answers often enough to be worth separating.
Against all 380 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices, Nashville ranks 138 and Jackson ranks 371, counting from the most expensive. The national median area sits at 93.492 — Monroe — so 1 of these 10 Tennessee areas are dearer than the typical American metropolitan area and 9 are cheaper.
Jackson is in the cheapest tenth of the country, so the bottom of this state's table is genuinely cheap and not just cheap relative to its neighbours.
The distinction matters for a specific reason. Everything on this page holds the income tax constant because these cities share a state; the moment a move crosses a state line that stops being true, and the comparison becomes the harder one — which is what Tennessee against every other state is for.
The tax that is the same in all 10
Worth spelling out, because it is what makes the ranking above readable at all. On $100,000, in every one of these areas:
Federal income tax — $13,170. Set by Congress, identical everywhere in the United States.
Social Security and Medicare — $7,650. Also federal, and also flat across the country up to the Social Security ceiling.
Tennessee income tax — $0. The state does not tax wage income at all, so the line is genuinely zero rather than unmodelled. One set of brackets for the whole state.
Local income tax — $0. Tennessee does not permit counties, cities or school districts to levy their own. That is not a modelling shortcut, it is the law, and it is the condition on which these pages get published: in the eleven states that do permit it, the levying jurisdictions do not line up with metropolitan areas and no honest rate can be assigned.
Which leaves property tax as the only tax in the whole comparison that moves — from $1,856 to $3,618 a year on the same $400,000 home — and the price level as the only other thing. Two variables, both measured, both sourced. It is as clean as a cost-of-living comparison gets.
The top of this table changes depending on whether you buy
A ranking built on one salary and one house value is worth exactly as much as its assumptions, so here are the same 10 areas resolved again with those assumptions changed.
Renting, with no property tax at all: Jackson still leads, by $10,395 over Nashville. The order does not depend on owning a house.
On $60,000 instead of $100,000: Morristown leads instead. At a lower salary the fixed property tax bill weighs much more heavily as a share of what you have, and it reorders the table.
On $250,000: Jackson still leads, and by $23,350 — the spread widens with income, because the price level applies to everything you have left after tax.
This is the same discipline applied to a single published figure elsewhere on this site: a number without its range is half a number. Every page linked above lets you set your own salary, your own house and your own horizon, and recomputes the whole comparison rather than scaling it.
How this is worked out, and what it does not claim
Every row is the same calculation: gross salary in, federal income tax and FICA out, Tennessee income tax out, property tax on a $400,000 home out — then what is left divided by that area's price level, so the figure is what the money buys rather than what the payslip says.
The price index is the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity, 2024, published per metropolitan area with a documented method and broken into housing, goods, utilities and services. Which counties make up each area comes from the Census Bureau delineation file, joined by CBSA code and never by name — there are thirty "Washington County" in the United States and a join on names would have failed silently.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released 19 February 2026) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area
US Census Bureau — Core Based Statistical Areas delineation file, 2023 (which counties form each metropolitan area) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/demo/metro-micro/delineation-files.html
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey — county effective property tax rates and housing units — read 2026-08-31. https://data.census.gov/
What it does not claim: that the city at the top is the better place to live. This measures what a salary buys. Schools, the commute, the weather and how far you are from your family are not in it, and on a move inside one state they are usually what actually decides it.
It also assumes one salary, one house value and a buyer rather than a renter. Every page linked above lets you change all three, and the answer moves with them — on some pairs enough to change which city comes out ahead.
Where to go next
Questions
- Which city in Tennessee leaves you best off?
- Jackson, at $89,653 of purchasing power on $100,000 with a $400,000 home — $9,696 a year more than Nashville at the other end of the table. Because the income tax is identical everywhere in Tennessee, that ranking is made of two things only: the price level and property tax.
- Which is the cheapest city in Tennessee?
- Jackson, at 85.522 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index where 100 is the US average, against 96.338 in Nashville. Cheapest is not the same as best off, though: property tax is set separately and can move a household by $356 a year on the same house.
- Does income tax differ between cities in Tennessee?
- No. Tennessee sets one set of brackets for the whole state — in fact it does not tax wage income at all, and it does not let counties or cities levy their own income tax. On $100,000 the bill is federal $13,170, FICA $7,650 and state $0 in every one of these 10 areas. That is what makes comparing them clean.
- How much does cost of living vary inside Tennessee?
- From 85.522 to 96.338 on the price index — 10.8 points between Jackson and Nashville. In take-home terms that is $9,696 a year of purchasing power on the same salary.
- How many Tennessee city comparisons are there?
- 45, one page each, every pair of the 10 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices in Tennessee. Each resolves the same way — income tax, property tax and price level — and each shows the break-even salary in both directions.