Chattanooga, TN vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Chattanooga to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs Charlotte 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 $105,385 in Charlotte, NC (+$5,385).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($163 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $20,880 | +$2,520 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,834 | +$130 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,130 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,752 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,000 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $8,740 | +$3,834 |
| Total | $34,908 | $41,336 | +$6,428 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |