Nashville, TN vs Albany, NY
Moving from Nashville to Albany? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $370,533 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Albany 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $101,188 in Albany, NY (+$1,188).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Albany, NY: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,159 sqft in Albany ($228 vs $232 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Albany, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $20,172 | −$1,404 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,868 | +$154 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,895 | +$765 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $3,180 | +$1,572 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,600 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $18,849 | +$13,619 |
| Total | $38,459 | $52,564 | +$14,105 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Albany, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 2.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $370,533 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 5.5% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $232 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.95% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |