Chattanooga, TN vs Jacksonville, FL
Moving from Chattanooga to Jacksonville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $352,994 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs Jacksonville 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 $107,899 in Jacksonville, FL (+$7,899).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Jacksonville, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville ($163 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Jacksonville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $20,412 | +$2,052 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,813 | +$110 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,800 | +$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,656 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $4,200 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $4,713 | −$193 |
| Total | $34,908 | $40,594 | +$5,686 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Jacksonville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.54% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 11.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $352,994 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,701 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |