Salem, OR vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Salem to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $94,695 in Nashville, TN (−$5,305).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($268 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $21,576 | +$2,040 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,715 | −$524 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,130 | −$550 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,608 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,200 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $5,231 | −$7,904 |
| Total | $44,194 | $38,459 | −$5,735 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 35 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |