Nashville, TN vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Nashville to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Anchorage 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 $110,046 in Anchorage, AK (+$10,046).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($228 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $21,240 | −$336 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $5,224 | +$509 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,350 | +$220 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,952 | +$1,344 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,000 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $4,919 | −$311 |
| Total | $38,459 | $38,685 | +$226 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 26 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.90 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 5 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |