Birmingham, AL → Chattanooga, TN
You'd keep $209 more a month in Chattanooga
+$2,508 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 76 households moved Birmingham → Chattanooga (avg AGI $67,171). 62 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Birmingham | Chattanooga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,167 | $6,933 | −$234 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,840 | $1,357 | −$483 |
| Take-home pay | $5,326 | $5,576 | +$250 |
| Rent | $1,125 | $1,150 | +$25 |
| Getting around | $553 | $554 | +$1 |
| Groceries | $364 | $368 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $414 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $228 | $230 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $319 | $322 | +$3 |
| Left over | $2,329 | $2,538 | +$209 |
To break even in Chattanooga, you'd need to earn
$79,500
Household gross, versus $86,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Birmingham does now.
The tax difference alone
+$4,970
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Chattanooga
Birmingham, AL in full
The lowest property tax rate in the country, on cheap houses.
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 → Birmingham →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.