Memphis, Tennessee Cost Of Living

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Memphis cost of living index

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; this is the most current data available.

The 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. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods and services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Memphis	Tennessee	National
Cost of living	79	89	100
Index	Memphis	Tennessee	National
Goods & Services	86	93	100
Groceries	89	95	100
Health care	77	89	100
Housing	62	80	100
Transportation	87	88	100
Utilities	88	96	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Memphis is 11% lower than the Tennessee average
The cost of living in Memphis is 21% lower than the national average
Memphis housing is 38% lower than the national average
Tennessee general sales tax is 37% higher than the national average
Tennessee state income tax is 55% lower than the national average

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

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 in Memphis is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Memphis has a median income of about $53,933 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,258 should be spent 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 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	1%	1%

Goods & Services

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$14.50	$17.49	17.1%
Beauty Salon	$33.00	$38.17	13.5%
Toothpaste	$1.76	$2.32	24.2%
Shampoo	$0.79	$1.01	21.9%
Movie	$12.17	$10.72	13.5%
Bowling	$17.50	$13.86	26.3%

Groceries

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.14	$3.90	19.5%
Fried Chicken	$0.83	$1.40	40.5%
Milk	$2.01	$1.96	2.4%
Potatoes	$3.19	$3.18	0.2%
Pizza	$8.25	$10.39	20.6%
Beer	$8.84	$9.23	4.2%

Health Care

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$61.66	$106.34	42.0%
Doctor	$74.63	$115.25	35.2%
Dentist	$75.17	$98.38	23.6%
Ibuprofen	$7.98	$9.26	13.8%
Lipitor	$466.06	$466.47	0.1%

Housing

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$93,700.00	$184,700.00	49.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$921.18	$1,273.32	27.7%
Apartment Rent	$842.00	$949.00	11.3%

Transportation

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.30	$2.59	11.4%
Tire Balancing	$42.16	$48.90	13.8%

Utilities

Item	Memphis	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$131.84	$167.60	21.3%
Phone	$182.13	$163.42	11.5%

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	86	-14%
Sunset, AR	168	69	-31%
Edmondson, AR	266	74	-26%
West Memphis, AR	25,411	76	-24%
Horn Lake, MS	26,785	80	-20%
Memphis, TN	655,857	79	-21%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Boston, MA	658,279	145	45%
Washington, DC	659,009	152	52%
Denver, CO	663,303	114	14%
Nashville, TN	643,771	95	-5%
Seattle, WA	668,849	158	58%
Memphis, TN	655,857	79	-21%