Atlanta, GA → Chattanooga, TN
You'd keep $61 more a month in Chattanooga
+$732 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 548 households moved Atlanta → Chattanooga (avg AGI $92,091). 368 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Atlanta | Chattanooga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $6,939 | −$936 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,993 | $1,359 | −$634 |
| Take-home pay | $5,882 | $5,581 | −$301 |
| Rent | $1,399 | $1,150 | −$249 |
| Getting around | $580 | $554 | −$26 |
| Groceries | $392 | $368 | −$24 |
| Healthcare | $441 | $414 | −$27 |
| Utilities | $245 | $230 | −$15 |
| Everything else | $343 | $322 | −$21 |
| Left over | $2,482 | $2,543 | +$61 |
To break even in Chattanooga, you'd need to earn
$82,000
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Atlanta does now.
The tax difference alone
+$4,282
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Chattanooga
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
Chattanooga, TN in full
World-class climbing and paddling, no income tax, municipal fiber.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Chattanooga on Chattanooga wages.
Chattanooga → Atlanta →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.