Chattanooga, TN vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Chattanooga to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs Baltimore 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 Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $111,731 in Baltimore, MD (+$11,731).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($163 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $23,028 | +$4,668 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $5,075 | +$371 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,685 | +$555 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,388 | +$780 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,400 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $11,584 | +$6,678 |
| Total | $34,908 | $47,160 | +$12,252 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |