Kingsport, TN vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Kingsport to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($246,242 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Kingsport vs San Jose 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 Kingsport, TN, you'd need about $133,029 in San Jose, CA (+$33,029).
Livability — Kingsport, TN: 75 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,062 sqft in Kingsport vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($123 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kingsport, TN | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,200 | $43,500 | +$27,300 |
| Groceries | $4,736 | $5,247 | +$511 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $5,125 | +$1,995 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $3,804 | +$2,196 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $4,400 | $25,449 | +$21,050 |
| Total | $32,273 | $84,625 | +$52,351 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kingsport, TN | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.0 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.84 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $246,242 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $123 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,350 | $3,625 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| 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 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |