Memphis, TN Cost Of Living

Memphis cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Memphis	Tennessee	National
Cost of living index	82	90	100
Index	Memphis	Tennessee	National
Goods & Services index	87	97	100
Groceries index	91	93	100
Health care index	85	89	100
Housing index	62	80	100
Transportation index	89	90	100
Utilities index	103	95	100

A general summary of the cost of living index in Memphis, TN is shown above. Compared to the state average of Tennessee the cost of living index in Memphis, TN is 82, which is 9% lower than the average in Tennessee and compared to the national average it is 18% lower than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In Memphis, TN goods and services come in at 11% lower than the average in Tennessee and are 13% lower than compared to the nationwide average.

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The cost of living in Memphis is 9% lower than the Tennessee average.
The cost of living in Memphis is 18% lower than the national average.
The cost of housing in Memphis is 38% lower than the national average.
Tennessee general sales tax is 37% higher than the national average.
Tennessee state income tax is 125% higher than the national average.

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Salary Calculator

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

The salary calculator allows you to compare how much your current salary in Memphis, TN would be worth in another city. In other words, the salary calculator will adjust the figure you enter for cost of living so that you can determine how much more or much less you would need to earn while maintaining your current quality of living. If you are considering relocating to a more expensive city than Memphis, TN, the calculator will tell you how much more you need to earn so you can assess job offers more accurately. The Memphis, TN salary calculator is easy to use. All you do is enter the name of another city, then move the slider to your current income. After that, the salary calculator will crunch the numbers for you and give you the information you need about the place you are considering going. Additionally, it will show a detailed breakdown of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$53,933	$4,494	$1,258	$1,618
Renters	$26,343	$2,195	$615	$790

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living is by simply calculating the maximum that a person should spend on housing in Memphis, TN, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The safest way to live in the city is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income that one earns on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Memphis, TN has a median income of about $53,933 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a person should spend a maximum of $1,258 on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $26,343. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $615 on all of their rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Tennessee Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Tennessee	7%	9.75%

Tennessee Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Tennessee	5%	5%

For those who live in Memphis, TN and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Tennessee income tax rate and the Tennessee sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Tennessee, the sales tax is 7%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 9.75%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Tennessee, the income tax rate ranges between 5% to 5%.

Goods & Services

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$13.96	$16.09	13.2%
Beauty Salon	$29.50	$37.33	21.0%
Toothpaste	$1.89	$2.45	22.8%
Shampoo	$0.79	$1.00	21.0%
Movie	$10.03	$10.28	2.4%
Bowling	$3.39	$4.93	31.2%

Groceries

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.70	$3.80	2.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.12	$1.40	20.1%
Milk	$1.86	$2.01	7.2%
Potatoes	$3.10	$3.01	2.9%
Pizza	$9.16	$9.89	7.4%
Beer	$9.14	$8.90	2.7%

Health Care

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$64.31	$102.16	37.1%
Doctor	$70.43	$108.36	35.0%
Dentist	$87.60	$92.53	5.3%
Ibuprofen	$8.16	$9.28	12.1%
Lipitor	$427.38	$425.82	0.4%

Housing

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$93,700.00	$184,700.00	49.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$803.07	$1,202.44	33.2%
Apartment Rent	$842.00	$949.00	11.3%

Transportation

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.08	$2.24	7.4%
Tire Balancing	$38.06	$46.29	17.8%

Utilities

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$156.87	$165.96	5.5%
Phone	$32.78	$28.68	14.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Jericho, AR	96	90	-10%
Sunset, AR	168	72	-28%
Edmondson, AR	266	77	-23%
West Memphis, AR	25,411	79	-21%
Horn Lake, MS	26,785	83	-17%
Memphis, TN	655,857	82	-18%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Boston, MA	658,279	148	48%
Washington, DC	659,009	152	52%
Denver, CO	663,303	115	15%
Nashville, TN	643,771	98	-2%
Seattle, WA	668,849	159	59%
Memphis, TN	655,857	82	-18%

Source: The Memphis, TN cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

Memphis, TN Cost of Living