City comparison
Johnson City, TN is about 425 miles (700 km) from Memphis, TN in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 550 miles, or about 9 h 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 Johnson City, TN to Memphis, TN takes about 52 min, covering roughly 425 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.
Johnson City, TN is on Eastern Time and Memphis, TN is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Johnson City, it's 11 a.m. in Memphis, which puts Johnson City 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 70,720 in Johnson City — about 8.9× larger by population. By land area, Memphis covers about 290 sq mi vs 44 sq mi for Johnson City.
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 | Johnson City | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $893/mo | $1,050/mo | 17.6% higher in Memphis |
| Median home value | $215,500 | $139,600 | 54.4% higher in Johnson City |
| Median household income | $53,173 | $48,090 | 10.6% higher in Johnson City |
| Groceries index | 96.5 | 96.4 | ≈ equal (Johnson City slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 74.0 | 76.0 | 2.7% higher in Memphis |
| Transportation index | 95.6 | 95.8 | ≈ equal (Memphis slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 95.1 | 95.3 | ≈ equal (Memphis slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Johnson City, you'd need $108,852 in Memphis to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Johnson City, TN is about 8.1% cheaper overall than Memphis, TN, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 25% higher in Memphis than in Johnson City. If you earn $80,000 in Johnson City, you'd need about $87,082 in Memphis to keep the same standard of living.