Nashville, TN vs Dayton, OH
Moving from Nashville to Dayton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Dayton 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 $95,210 in Dayton, OH (−$4,790).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Dayton, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,500 sqft in Dayton ($228 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Dayton, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $16,200 | −$5,376 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,706 | −$8 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,025 | −$105 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,100 | +$492 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $8,917 | +$3,687 |
| Total | $38,459 | $36,248 | −$2,211 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Dayton, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 92.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,350 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |