Nashville, TN vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from Nashville to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Lancaster 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 $99,722 in Lancaster, PA (−$278).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($228 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $18,312 | −$3,264 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,915 | +$201 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,440 | +$310 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,316 | +$708 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,200 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $9,202 | +$3,972 |
| Total | $38,459 | $39,385 | +$926 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $222 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |