Chattanooga, TN vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Chattanooga to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs Tampa 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 $110,962 in Tampa, FL (+$10,962).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($163 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $24,216 | +$5,856 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,949 | +$245 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,800 | +$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,656 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $4,200 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $4,642 | −$264 |
| Total | $34,908 | $44,463 | +$9,555 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $2,018 |
| 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 | 28 |
| 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 66% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |