Knoxville, TN → Chattanooga, TN
You'd keep $162 more a month in Chattanooga
+$1,944 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 387 households moved Knoxville → Chattanooga (avg AGI $70,992). 297 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Knoxville | Chattanooga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $6,958 | $0 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,364 | $1,364 | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $5,594 | $5,594 | $0 |
| Rent | $1,312 | $1,150 | −$162 |
| Getting around | $554 | $554 | $0 |
| Groceries | $368 | $368 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $414 | $0 |
| Utilities | $230 | $230 | $0 |
| Everything else | $322 | $322 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,394 | $2,556 | +$162 |
To break even in Chattanooga, you'd need to earn
$80,500
Household gross, versus $83,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Knoxville does now.
The tax difference alone
$0
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Chattanooga
Knoxville, TN in full
No income tax and the Smokies out the back door.
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 → Knoxville →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.