Moving from Phoenix to Memphis
You'd keep $201 more a month in Memphis
+$2,412 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Phoenix leftover
$2,577
a month after tax and rent
Memphis leftover
$2,778
+$201 vs Phoenix
In 2022-2023, 123 households moved Phoenix → Memphis (avg AGI $61,049). 163 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Phoenix | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,114 | −$469 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,411 | −$298 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,704 | −$171 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,058 | −$218 |
| Getting around | $586 | $548 | −$38 |
| Groceries | $396 | $364 | −$32 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $410 | −$36 |
| Utilities | $248 | $228 | −$20 |
| Everything else | $347 | $319 | −$28 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,778 | +$201 |
To break even in Memphis, you'd need to earn
$82,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,910
A year, in state and local income tax. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Memphis
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
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 → Phoenix →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Memphis than Phoenix?
A one-bedroom is about $1,276 in Phoenix versus $1,058 in Memphis. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $201 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 Phoenix 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.
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.