Lakeland, FL vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Lakeland to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($298,816 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Lakeland vs Nashville 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 Lakeland, FL, you'd need about $99,275 in Nashville, TN (−$725).
Livability — Lakeland, FL: 69 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,096 sqft in Lakeland vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($162 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lakeland, FL | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,188 | $21,576 | −$612 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,715 | −$99 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,130 | −$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,608 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,200 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $4,036 | $5,231 | +$1,195 |
| Total | $41,693 | $38,459 | −$3,234 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lakeland, FL | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.63% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 12.9% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $298,816 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.2% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $162 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,849 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.73% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 28 |
| 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 |