Lancaster, PA vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Lancaster to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($388,207 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Lancaster 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 Lancaster, PA, you'd need about $100,279 in Nashville, TN (+$279).
Livability — Lancaster, PA: 64 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,254 sqft in Lancaster vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($222 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lancaster, PA | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,312 | $21,576 | +$3,264 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,715 | −$200 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,130 | −$310 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,608 | −$708 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,200 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $9,202 | $5,231 | −$3,971 |
| Total | $39,385 | $38,459 | −$926 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lancaster, PA | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 96.8 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.38% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.1% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.51 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $388,207 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $222 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,526 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.48% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 23.1 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |