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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 6 cities in Tennessee: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Memphis — index 86 — for better or worse — , zero state tax — leads (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
#1 Ranked: Memphis — cost index 86, rent $1,234/mo, income $51,211
Veteran scoring: cost index 86, no state income tax, healthcare index 89 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 6 cities in Tennessee: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Memphis — index 86 — for better or worse — , zero state tax — leads (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Veterans have unique financial considerations: pension, VA disability, GI Bill benefits all interact with local costs and taxes. Our model weights cost of living (20pts), state tax burden (20pts), and healthcare costs (15pts) for supplemental care beyond VA. Memphis scores highest with a 86 cost index and no state income tax.
What does daily life actually cost in Memphis? Start with the 29% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 66) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 89) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $51,211 and homes at $142,870 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis | 86 | $1,234 | Details |
| 2 | Chattanooga | 98 | $1,499 | Details |
| 3 | Clarksville | 96 | $1,376 | Details |
| 4 | Nashville | 108 | $1,772 | Details |
| 5 | Knoxville | 104 | $1,708 | Details |
| 6 | Murfreesboro | 106 | $1,683 | Details |
618,639 residents · Tennessee
A closer look at Memphis: the cost index of 86 breaks down to a Housing index of 66 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 89 (weakest). Median rent is $1,234/month — 35% below the national median — while household income sits at $51,211, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
187,030 residents · Tennessee
Here's Chattanooga by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 98. Rent: $1,499/month. Income: $61,028/year. Home price: $314,306. Population: 187,030. The strongest category is Utilities at 90; the most expensive is Healthcare at 101. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,752 per year vs. the national median. If you've ever felt priced out, the numbers here offer a different path.
180,716 residents · Tennessee
Why Clarksville ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 96 on the cost index, residents save roughly 16% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,376/month while the median household pulls in $66,786/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 89, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $316,024 — $151,346 below the national median.
687,788 residents · Tennessee
The #4 spot goes to Nashville, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,772/month — saving renters $1,476 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 99, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 120. A 28% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
198,162 residents · Tennessee
What does daily life actually cost in Knoxville? Start with the 40% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. On the category level, Utilities (index 96) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 110) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $50,994 — for better or worse — and homes at $363,688 round out a profile that ranks #5 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Memphis ranks #1 in Tennessee for this analysis with a cost index of 86 and median income of $51,211.
Memphis scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,234/mo, and competitive median income of $51,211.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Memphis (ranked #1) has a cost index of 86 and rent of $1,234/mo, while Murfreesboro (ranked #6) has a cost index of 106 and rent of $1,683/mo — a 20-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Memphis is $1,234/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $661 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Memphis is $142,870, which is 2.8× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Tennessee has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.55%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.56%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.