Nashville, TN vs Waco, TX
Moving from Nashville to Waco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $256,772 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Waco 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 $93,930 in Waco, TX (−$6,070).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Waco, TX: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 4,088 sqft in Waco ($228 vs $122 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Waco, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $16,848 | −$4,728 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,647 | −$68 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,675 | +$545 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,836 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $3,600 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $5,779 | +$549 |
| Total | $38,459 | $36,385 | −$2,074 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Waco, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 91.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $256,772 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $122 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |
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