Jacksonville, FL vs Chattanooga, TN
Moving from Jacksonville to Chattanooga? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,994 → $326,370 median home) and taxes.
Jacksonville vs Chattanooga 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 Jacksonville, FL, you'd need about $92,679 in Chattanooga, TN (−$7,321).
Livability — Jacksonville, FL: 69 · Chattanooga, TN: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville vs 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga ($191 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jacksonville, FL | Chattanooga, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,412 | $18,360 | −$2,052 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,704 | −$110 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,130 | −$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,608 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,200 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $4,713 | $4,907 | +$194 |
| Total | $40,594 | $34,908 | −$5,686 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jacksonville, FL | Chattanooga, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 92.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.54% | 4.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 11.4% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $352,994 | $326,370 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 0.2% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,701 | $1,530 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |