Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)?
Your $100,000 in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) has the same purchasing power as $102,270 in the average US city. You'd need $2,270 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s cost index of 98, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously no state income tax and you don't actually need a car, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Tennessee is one of the handful of US states with no state income tax on wages, so the only income-tax bite on a paycheck in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) is federal. For a household earning $100k, that's a tangible four-figure difference every year compared to a comparable salary in California or New York.
Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s Walk Score is 94/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 76/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
The average one-way commute in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) is about 25 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.
45% of adults 25 and over in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'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. Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'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. Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) 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.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 9. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 9 or colder should survive a typical winter in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance). (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) is at about 518 feet (158 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Higher than average. Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) reports about 5,186 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s cost-of-living index is 98, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Genuinely so. Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s Walk Score of 94 out of 100 puts it in "Walker's Paradise" territory — daily errands don't require a car at all. Transit Score is 76 out of 100. Many residents skip car ownership entirely.
Roughly $68,446 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) runs about $1,392/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.