Roanoke, VA vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Roanoke to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($301,139 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Roanoke vs Nashville 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 Roanoke, VA, you'd need about $106,380 in Nashville, TN (+$6,380).
Livability — Roanoke, VA: 73 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,320 sqft in Roanoke vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($151 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Roanoke, VA | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,836 | $21,576 | +$4,740 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,715 | −$139 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,130 | +$50 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,608 | −$264 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $9,549 | $5,231 | −$4,318 |
| Total | $37,690 | $38,459 | +$769 |
Side by side
| Metric | Roanoke, VA | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.05% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $301,139 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $151 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,403 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |