Cleveland vs Knoxville leftover
Moving to Knoxville costs you $37 a month
$2,404/mo leftover in Knoxville vs $2,441 in Cleveland after tax and rent ($37 less). −$444 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Cleveland leftover
$2,441
a month after tax and rent
Knoxville leftover
$2,404
−$37 vs Cleveland
Compare Cleveland to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Cleveland.
Monthly gap
Cleveland → Knoxville
$37
less / month in Cleveland
$2,404 in Knoxville · $2,441 in Cleveland · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 89 households moved Cleveland → Knoxville (avg AGI $58,461). 52 went the other way. The whole move →
−$37 / mo
| Per month | Cleveland | Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,708 | $6,950 | +$242 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,290 | $1,362 | +$72 |
| Take-home pay | $5,418 | $5,588 | +$170 |
| Rent | $1,070 | $1,296 | +$226 |
| Getting around | $568 | $554 | −$14 |
| Groceries | $369 | $368 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $415 | $414 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $231 | $230 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $323 | $322 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,441 | $2,404 | −$37 |
To break even in Knoxville, you'd need to earn
$84,000
Household gross, versus $80,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Cleveland does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Knoxville
Cleveland, TN in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,274 and 215 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
Knoxville, TN in full
No income tax and the Smokies out the back door.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Knoxville on Knoxville wages.
Knoxville → Cleveland →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Knoxville than Cleveland?
A one-bedroom is about $1,070 in Cleveland versus $1,296 in Knoxville. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $37 a month lower in Knoxville. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Knoxville have state income tax?
Knoxville is in Tennessee, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Cleveland to Knoxville?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Tennessee tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Cleveland and Knoxville moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.