The cost of living in Tennessee is 12.2% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Tennessee is $78,800 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Tennessee household is $54,833.
The average home price in Tennessee is $177,600, which is lower than the US average home price of $229,800. Median rent in Tennessee is $897/mo which is lower than the US average rent of $1,096/mo. If you want to adjust homes prices to local incomes, the ratio of home prices to median household income is about 3.2 to 1. That means it takes roughly 3.2 years of a full salary to pay off a house. That compares to the national average of 3.5 to 1.
All in all, Tennessee has a low cost of living compared to America as a whole.
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Yes, Tennessee is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #5 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Tennessee ranks third most dangerous in the United States -- 81.91% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Volunteer State ranks tenth most dangerous in the United States -- 27.55% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Yes, Memphis is a dangerous city. Memphis ranks as the #2 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Memphis might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Windyke-Southwind is the safest in Memphis, while Downtown is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Memphis ranks highest in America -- 337.36% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks third highest in the United States -- 162.61% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is "dangerous". Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
The county in Tennessee with the lowest cost of living is Carroll County. The average living wage in Carroll County is $73,333 according to MIT data. Carroll County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Tennessee as a whole. Childcare costs $10,572 a year in Carroll County for two children compared to the Tennessee average of $12,473. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $7,956 per year in Carroll County compared to $10,853 on average in Tennessee.
The cheapest housing market in Tennessee is Humboldt. The average home value in Humboldt is $84,600, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Tennessee is $177,600, almost 2.1 times higher than Humboldt.