Chattanooga, TN vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Chattanooga to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs San Diego 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 $119,914 in San Diego, CA (+$19,914).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($163 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $35,412 | +$17,052 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $5,112 | +$409 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $5,125 | +$1,995 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $3,804 | +$2,196 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $21,601 | +$16,695 |
| Total | $34,908 | $72,554 | +$37,646 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 9.8 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |