Atlanta, GA → Memphis, TN
You'd keep $282 more a month in Memphis
+$3,384 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 300 households moved Atlanta → Memphis (avg AGI $74,863). 502 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Atlanta | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $7,095 | −$780 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,993 | $1,405 | −$588 |
| Take-home pay | $5,882 | $5,690 | −$192 |
| Rent | $1,399 | $1,058 | −$341 |
| Getting around | $580 | $548 | −$32 |
| Groceries | $392 | $364 | −$28 |
| Healthcare | $441 | $410 | −$31 |
| Utilities | $245 | $228 | −$17 |
| Everything else | $343 | $319 | −$24 |
| Left over | $2,482 | $2,764 | +$282 |
To break even in Memphis, you'd need to earn
$80,500
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 Memphis
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
Memphis, TN in full
No income tax and a logistics economy; wages trail the national median.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Memphis on Memphis wages.
Memphis → 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.