Jackson vs Memphis leftover
You'd keep $498 more a month in Memphis
$2,771/mo leftover in Memphis vs $2,273 in Jackson after tax and rent ($498 more). +$5,976 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Jackson leftover
$2,273
a month after tax and rent
Memphis leftover
$2,771
+$498 vs Jackson
Compare Jackson to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Jackson.
Monthly gap
Jackson → Memphis
$498
more / month in Memphis
$2,771 in Memphis · $2,273 in Jackson · 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, 246 households moved Jackson → Memphis (avg AGI $57,638). 317 went the other way. The whole move →
+$498 / mo
| Per month | Jackson | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,542 | $7,087 | +$545 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,241 | $1,402 | +$162 |
| Take-home pay | $5,301 | $5,684 | +$384 |
| Rent | $1,128 | $1,045 | −$83 |
| Getting around | $562 | $548 | −$14 |
| Groceries | $369 | $364 | −$5 |
| Healthcare | $415 | $410 | −$5 |
| Utilities | $231 | $228 | −$3 |
| Everything else | $323 | $319 | −$4 |
| Left over | $2,273 | $2,771 | +$498 |
To break even in Memphis, you'd need to earn
$76,500
Household gross, versus $78,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Jackson does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Memphis
Jackson, TN in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,343 and 216 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
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 → Jackson →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Memphis than Jackson?
A one-bedroom is about $1,128 in Jackson versus $1,045 in Memphis. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $498 a month higher in Memphis. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Memphis have state income tax?
Memphis is in Tennessee, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Jackson to Memphis?
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 Jackson and Memphis 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.