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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Tennessee city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 6 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Murfreesboro leads at cost index 98 — though some people might weigh that differently — with a util…
#1 Ranked: Murfreesboro — cost index 98, rent $1,683/mo, income $76,241
Top 5 separated by only 5 points
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 98, utilities index 99, income $76,241 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Tennessee city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 6 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Murfreesboro leads at cost index 98 — though some people might weigh that differently — with a utilities index of 99. That's not nothing.
Here's what the headline numbers don't tell you: Top 5 separated by only 5 points. The race is tight: Murfreesboro, Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Nashville are all within 5 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
At $1,683/month for rent and a cost index of 98, Murfreesboro is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $76,241. Fairly typical for a city this size.
Remote workers profit from geographic arbitrage. Our model scores cost index (20pts), local income as a proxy for economic infrastructure (15pts), and utility costs (10pts) — because when your living room is your office, reliable affordable internet and power matter. Murfreesboro scores highest with a 98 cost index and 99 utilities index. Memphis offers even cheaper utilities.
Factor in the cost side, though, and the picture shifts. Across Tennessee, the average cost of living index is 90 — 21 points below the national median. Known for no income tax, Nashville boom, and Memphis blues, the state offers 6 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,545/month. That's $350 less than the national average of $1,895. Even in a down market, this kind of cost structure protects household budgets (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
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 | Murfreesboro | 98 | $1,683 | Details |
| 2 | Memphis | 72 | $1,234 | Details |
| 3 | Chattanooga | 88 | $1,499 | Details |
| 4 | Clarksville | 80 | $1,376 | Details |
| 5 | Nashville | 103 | $1,772 | Details |
| 6 | Knoxville | 100 | $1,708 | Details |
165,430 residents · Tennessee
What does daily life actually cost in Murfreesboro? Start with the 26% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 98) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $76,241 and homes at $421,928 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
618,639 residents · Tennessee
A closer look at Memphis: the cost index of 72 breaks down to a Housing index of 72 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 94 (weakest). Fairly typical for a city this size. 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
A closer look at Chattanooga: the cost index of 88 breaks down to a Housing index of 88 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (weakest). Median rent is $1,499/month — 21% below the national median — while household income sits at $61,028, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
180,716 residents · Tennessee
A closer look at Clarksville: the cost index of 80 breaks down to a Housing index of 80 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 96 (weakest). Median rent is $1,376/month — 27% below the national median — while household income sits at $66,786, meaning locals spend about 25% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
687,788 residents · Tennessee
Dive into Nashville's numbers: cost index 103 (8 points below national average), rent $1,772/month, income $75,197, and a home price of $429,861. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 101, while Housing runs 103. As a major city with 687,788 residents, amenities and job markets are robust (that's pre-tax, of course).
Murfreesboro ranks #1 in Tennessee for this analysis with a cost index of 98 and median income of $76,241.
Murfreesboro scores highest for remote workers due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,683/mo, and competitive median income of $76,241.
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.
Murfreesboro (ranked #1) has a cost index of 98 and rent of $1,683/mo, while Knoxville (ranked #6) has a cost index of 100 and rent of $1,708/mo — a 2-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 Murfreesboro is $1,683/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $212 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Murfreesboro is $421,928, which is 5.5× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. 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.