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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 6 of 6 cities in Tennessee beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Memphis stands out at 72 on the index, with rent of $1,234/month and household income of $51,211. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
#1 Ranked: Memphis — cost index 72, rent $1,234/mo, income $51,211
Memphis is a clear outlier at index 72
6 of 6 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis | 72 | $1,234 | Details |
| 2 | Clarksville | 80 | $1,376 | Details |
| 3 | Chattanooga | 88 | $1,499 | Details |
| 4 | Murfreesboro | 98 | $1,683 | Details |
| 5 | Knoxville | 100 | $1,708 | Details |
| 6 | Nashville | 103 | $1,772 | Details |
The numbers are clear: 6 of 6 cities in Tennessee beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Memphis stands out at 72 on the index, with rent of $1,234/month and household income of $51,211. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
Memphis is a clear outlier at index 72. And most of the time, you get the picture. #1-ranked Memphis has a cost index 16 points lower than the top-5 average of 88. That's not a marginal lead — it's a category of its own.
The #1 spot goes to Memphis, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,234/month — this is the part where it gets real — — saving renters $7,932 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 72, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 94. A 29% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
Rent data is sourced from Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI), which tracks the median rent across all active listings — not just new leases. This gives a more representative and stable signal than asking prices alone. Memphis: $1,234/mo, Clarksville: $1,376/mo, Chattanooga: $1,499/mo. The cheapest city here is $661 under the national median — that's $7,932/year in savings on rent alone.
Digging deeper, State context matters: Tennessee's 6 cities average a 90 cost index with $1,545/month median rent and $63,576 household income. No income tax, Nashville boom, and Memphis blues. Here's where the salary tiers really separate the field.
Here's how we'd use this ranking: start with the top 5, click into each city's detail page, and look at the 12-month rent trend. And with some exceptions, a city that's #3 but trending down beats a city that's #1 but climbing fast. Memphis leads today — the trend data below tells you whether it'll lead tomorrow (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
618,639 residents · Tennessee
Why Memphis ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 72 on the cost index, residents save roughly 39% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,234/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — while the median household pulls in $51,211/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 72, though Healthcare (94) lags behind. Home prices average $142,870 — $324,500 below the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
180,716 residents · Tennessee
Here's Clarksville by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 80. Rent: $1,376/month. Income: $66,786/year. Home price: $316,024. Population: 180,716. The strongest category is Housing at 80; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,228 per year vs. the national median. That's an underrated factor in the decision.
187,030 residents · Tennessee
Dive into Chattanooga's numbers: cost index 88 (23 points below national average), rent $1,499/month, income $61,028, and a home price of $314,306. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 88, while Healthcare runs 98. With 187,030 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
165,430 residents · Tennessee
Murfreesboro earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. And for many people, the 98 cost index sits 13 points below the national baseline, and the $76,241 — we had to double-check this one — median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $421,928 — $45,442 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 98, while Healthcare trails at 100.
198,162 residents · Tennessee
At $1,708/month for rent and a cost index of 100, 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. An outlier in the best sense.
Rent is the single largest expense for most households. We rank all tracked cities in Tennessee by median 1-bedroom rent (Zillow ZORI) from lowest to highest, filtering out any cities with incomplete data. 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 72 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 72 and rent of $1,234/mo, while Nashville (ranked #6) has a cost index of 103 and rent of $1,772/mo — a 31-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.