Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Memphis's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Memphis?
Your $100,000 in Memphis has the same purchasing power as $114,377 in the average US city. You'd need $14,377 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Memphis's cost index of 87, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Memphis usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, wage income stays untaxed at the state level, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Memphis sits at 87 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 13% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,050/mo against a typical household income of $48,090, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Wage income in Memphis isn't taxed at the state level. Tennessee is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place.
Memphis earns a Walk Score of 58/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Memphis's Bike Score is 61/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
The average one-way commute in Memphis is about 22 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Memphis's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Now and then. Memphis's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 35°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. Memphis's winter average of about 35°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Memphis averages about 91°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Zone 9, give or take a half-zone. Memphis's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 9 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Memphis sits at about 312 feet (95 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 9,662 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Memphis's composite cost-of-living index is 87, roughly 13% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Somewhat. Memphis earns a Walk Score of 58/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 29 out of 100.
Roughly $61,201 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Memphis runs about $1,050/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.