Nashville, TN vs Roanoke, VA
Moving from Nashville to Roanoke? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $301,139 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Roanoke 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 $94,003 in Roanoke, VA (−$5,997).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Roanoke, VA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 3,320 sqft in Roanoke ($228 vs $151 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Roanoke, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $16,836 | −$4,740 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,853 | +$139 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,080 | −$50 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,872 | +$264 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $9,549 | +$4,318 |
| Total | $38,459 | $37,690 | −$769 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Roanoke, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $301,139 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 3.8% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $151 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,403 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |