Orlando, FL vs Knoxville, TN
Moving from Orlando to Knoxville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($387,733 → $367,158 median home) and taxes.
Orlando vs Knoxville 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 Orlando, FL, you'd need about $90,790 in Knoxville, TN (−$9,210).
Livability — Orlando, FL: 66 · Knoxville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,385 sqft in Orlando vs 2,723 sqft in Knoxville ($210 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Orlando, FL | Knoxville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,724 | $21,144 | −$2,580 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,715 | −$99 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,130 | −$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,608 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,200 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $4,915 | $4,576 | −$339 |
| Total | $44,108 | $37,372 | −$6,736 |
Side by side
| Metric | Orlando, FL | Knoxville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.6 | 92.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.26% | 4.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 12.1% | 2.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $387,733 | $367,158 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.1% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $210 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,977 | $1,762 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.5 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |