Nashville, TN vs Salisbury, MD
Moving from Nashville to Salisbury? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $429,483 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Salisbury 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 $95,485 in Salisbury, MD (−$4,515).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Salisbury, MD: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,212 sqft in Salisbury ($228 vs $226 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Salisbury, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $23,616 | +$2,040 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,863 | +$149 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,685 | +$555 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,388 | +$780 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,400 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $9,253 | +$4,023 |
| Total | $38,459 | $45,205 | +$6,746 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Salisbury, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 92.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.27 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $429,483 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $226 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,968 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |