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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Tennessee's value. You get the picture. 6 out of 6 cities undercut the national cost index of 112. Leading the pack: Memphis at index 86, where median rent of $1,234/month saves renters $7,932/year versus the national median.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Tennessee's value. You get the picture. 6 out of 6 cities undercut the national cost index of 112. Leading the pack: Memphis at index 86, where median rent of $1,234/month saves renters $7,932/year versus the national median.
Why Memphis ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 86 on the cost index, residents save roughly 26% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,234/month while the median household pulls in $51,211/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 66, though Healthcare (89) lags behind. Home prices average $142,870 — $324,500 below the national median (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Bottom line: Memphis leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
#1 Ranked: Memphis — cost index 86, rent $1,234/mo, income $51,211
6 of 6 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
618,639 residents · Tennessee
Why Memphis ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 86 on the cost index, residents save roughly 26% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,234/month — we had to double-check this one — while the median household pulls in $51,211/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 66, though Healthcare (89) lags behind. Home prices average $142,870 — $324,500 below the national median.
180,716 residents · Tennessee
Here's Clarksville by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 96. Rent: $1,376/month. Income: $66,786/year. Home price: $316,024. Population: 180,716. The strongest category is Utilities at 89; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,228 per year vs. the national median. Not many cities can claim this.
187,030 residents · Tennessee
Why Chattanooga ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 98 on the cost index, residents save roughly 14% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,499/month while the median household pulls in $61,028/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 90, though Healthcare (101) lags behind. Home prices average $314,306 — $153,064 below the national median.
198,162 residents · Tennessee
At $1,708/month — worth pausing on — for rent and a cost index of 104, Knoxville is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $50,994. That's about what we'd expect given the state context.
165,430 residents · Tennessee
The #5 spot goes to Murfreesboro, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,683/month — saving renters $2,544 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 98, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 116. A 26% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis | 86 | $1,234 | Details |
| 2 | Clarksville | 96 | $1,376 | Details |
| 3 | Chattanooga | 98 | $1,499 | Details |
| 4 | Knoxville | 104 | $1,708 | Details |
| 5 | Murfreesboro | 106 | $1,683 | Details |
| 6 | Nashville | 108 | $1,772 | Details |
Memphis ranks #1 in Tennessee for this analysis with a cost index of 86 and 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 Nashville (ranked #6) has a cost index of 108 and rent of $1,772/mo — a 22-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.