Nashville, TN vs Rockford, IL
Moving from Nashville to Rockford? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $221,368 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Rockford 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 $92,932 in Rockford, IL (−$7,068).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Rockford, IL: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 3,840 sqft in Rockford ($228 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Rockford, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $15,828 | −$5,748 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,655 | −$60 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,550 | +$420 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,208 | +$600 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,900 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $11,929 | +$6,699 |
| Total | $38,459 | $40,070 | +$1,611 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Rockford, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 90.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 7.53% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | -0.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.13 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $221,368 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 9.1% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $130 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,319 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 2.54% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |