Albany, NY vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Albany to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($370,533 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Albany vs Nashville at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albany, NY, you'd need about $98,826 in Nashville, TN (−$1,174).
Livability — Albany, NY: 58 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,159 sqft in Albany vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($232 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albany, NY | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,172 | $21,576 | +$1,404 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,715 | −$154 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,130 | −$765 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,608 | −$1,572 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,200 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $18,849 | $5,231 | −$13,618 |
| Total | $52,564 | $38,459 | −$14,105 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albany, NY | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.97% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.3% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $370,533 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.5% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $232 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,681 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.95% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |