Nashville, TN vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Nashville to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Detroit 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 $101,199 in Detroit, MI (+$1,199).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($228 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $18,000 | −$3,576 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,896 | +$182 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,575 | +$1,445 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,316 | +$708 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $9,547 | +$4,317 |
| Total | $38,459 | $40,634 | +$2,175 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |