City comparison
High Point, NC is about 550 miles (900 km) from Memphis, TN in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 700 miles, or about 12 hours behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from High Point, NC to Memphis, TN takes about 1 h 8 min, covering roughly 550 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
High Point, NC is on Eastern Time and Memphis, TN is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in High Point, it's 11 a.m. in Memphis, which puts High Point 1 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Memphis has a population of 630,027, vs 114,120 in High Point — about 5.5× larger by population. By land area, Memphis covers about 290 sq mi vs 57 sq mi for High Point.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | High Point | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,030/mo | $1,050/mo | 1.9% higher in Memphis |
| Median home value | $196,500 | $139,600 | 40.8% higher in High Point |
| Median household income | $58,582 | $48,090 | 21.8% higher in High Point |
| Groceries index | 96.8 | 96.4 | ≈ equal (High Point slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 89.6 | 76.0 | 17.9% higher in High Point |
| Transportation index | 98.4 | 95.8 | 2.7% higher in High Point |
| Healthcare index | 97.9 | 95.3 | 2.7% higher in High Point |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in High Point, you'd need $99,989 in Memphis to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
High Point and Memphis have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 7% higher in Memphis than in High Point. If you earn $80,000 in High Point, you'd need about $79,991 in Memphis to keep the same standard of living.