Nashville, TN vs Tucson, AZ
Moving from Nashville to Tucson? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $343,580 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Tucson 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 $97,844 in Tucson, AZ (−$2,156).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Tucson, AZ: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,693 sqft in Tucson ($228 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Tucson, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $17,676 | −$3,900 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,841 | +$126 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,960 | +$830 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,668 | +$60 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,800 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $7,594 | +$2,364 |
| Total | $38,459 | $37,539 | −$920 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Tucson, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 3.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $343,580 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $186 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,473 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 41 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |