Philadelphia, PA vs Knoxville, TN
Moving from Philadelphia to Knoxville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $367,158 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $90,105 in Knoxville, TN (−$9,895).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Knoxville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,723 sqft in Knoxville ($223 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Knoxville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $21,144 | −$1,824 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,715 | −$194 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,130 | −$310 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,608 | −$708 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,200 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $4,576 | −$5,616 |
| Total | $45,025 | $37,372 | −$7,653 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Knoxville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 92.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $367,158 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,762 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |