Moving from Des Moines to Nashville
Moving to Nashville costs you $228 a month
−$2,736 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Des Moines leftover
$2,893
a month after tax and rent
Nashville leftover
$2,665
−$228 vs Des Moines
In 2022-2023, 29 households moved Des Moines → Nashville (avg AGI $49,724). The whole move →
| Per month | Des Moines | Nashville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,578 | +$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,764 | $1,548 | −$216 |
| Take-home pay | $5,736 | $6,030 | +$294 |
| Rent | $1,005 | $1,399 | +$394 |
| Getting around | $533 | $559 | +$26 |
| Groceries | $360 | $388 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $437 | +$32 |
| Utilities | $225 | $243 | +$18 |
| Everything else | $315 | $340 | +$25 |
| Left over | $2,893 | $2,665 | −$228 |
To break even in Nashville, you'd need to earn
$95,000
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Des Moines does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,865
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Nashville
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
Nashville, TN in full
No income tax and a real music and healthcare economy; traffic is the tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Nashville on Nashville wages.
Nashville → Des Moines →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Nashville than Des Moines?
A one-bedroom is about $1,005 in Des Moines versus $1,399 in Nashville. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $228 a month lower in Nashville. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Nashville have state income tax?
Nashville is in Tennessee, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Des Moines to Nashville?
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.
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.