Nashville, TN vs Colorado Springs, CO
Moving from Nashville to Colorado Springs? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $457,300 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Colorado Springs 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 $101,122 in Colorado Springs, CO (+$1,122).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Colorado Springs, CO: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,077 sqft in Colorado Springs ($228 vs $241 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Colorado Springs, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $21,204 | −$372 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,814 | +$99 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,050 | +$920 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,788 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,800 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $8,740 | +$3,509 |
| Total | $38,459 | $43,395 | +$4,936 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Colorado Springs, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 98.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $457,300 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $241 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,767 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.41% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |