Cost of living in Nashville research summary. The cost of living index is set to 100 for the average place in the United States. A cost of living index above 100 means Nashville is expensive. An index value below 100 means the city is a relatively cheap place to live.
On a city-by-city basis in Tennessee, home prices and rent have the biggest impact on the cost of living. Here are the key takeaways based on Saturday Night Science:
The cost of living index in Nashville is 97, with 100 being the average.
The cost of living index in Nashville is 1.0x lower than the national average.
Nashville ranks as the #86 cheapest in Tennessee out of 105.
Nashville ranks as the #2,747 cheapest out of 6,412 in the US.
The median home value in Nashville is $291,400.
The median income in Nashville is $65,565.
According to the most recent data on the cost of living, Nashville has an overall cost of living index of 97, which is 1.0x lower than the national index of 100.
Compared to Tennessee, Nashville has a cost of living index that's 1.1x higher than Tennessee's index of 90.
The standard of living in Nashville ranks as #86 most affordable out of the 105 places we measured in Tennessee. By definition, that implies Nashville ranks as the #19 most expensive place in the Volunteer State.
For more reading on life in Nashville, check out:
Six factors go into calculating the cost of living index in Nashville. Here is how it fairs on each of the criteria:
The Services index in Nashville is 97.
The Groceries index in Nashville is 90.
The Health index in Nashville is 86.
The Housing index in Nashville is 96.
The Transportation index in Nashville is 100.
The Utilities index in Nashville is 103.
Living Expense | Nashville | Tennessee | National Average | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | 97 | 90 | 100 | |
Services | 97 | 93 | 100 | |
Groceries | 90 | 96 | 100 | |
Health | 86 | 88 | 100 | |
Housing | 96 | 82 | 100 | |
Transportation | 100 | 90 | 100 | |
Utilities | 103 | 93 | 100 |
Housing swings affordability the most between places in Tennessee, so we broke down housing costs into more detail. Home and income data comes from the most recent US Census ACS 2017-2021. The key points are:
The Median Home Value in Nashville is $291,400.
The Median Rent in Nashville is $1,250.
The Median Income in Nashville is $65,565.
The Home Value To Income in Nashville is 4.4x.
The Rent To Monthly Income in Nashville is 0.23x.
Statistic | Nashville | Tennessee | United States |
---|---|---|---|
Median Home Value | $291,400 | $193,700 | $244,900 |
Median Rent | $1,250 | $951 | $1,163 |
Median Income | $65,565 | $58,516 | $69,021 |
Home Value To Income | 4.4x | 3.3x | 3.5x |
Rent To Monthly Income | 0.23x | 0.2x | 0.2x |