Alabama vs Tennessee

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in Alabama is worth

$112,613

at national prices · RPP 88.8BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Tennessee is worth

$108,814

at national prices · RPP 91.9BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$3,799 less far in Tennessee (−3.4% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

Alabama: $100,000 ÷ (88.8 ÷ 100) = $112,613

Tennessee: $100,000 ÷ (91.9 ÷ 100) = $108,814

difference: $108,814 − $112,613 = −$3,799

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	Alabama	Tennessee	Difference
All items	88.8	91.9	+3.5%
Housing rents	61.8	79.1	+28.0%
Goods	96.4	96.2	−0.2%
Utilities	84.6	72.1	−14.8%
Other services	96.7	95.1	−1.7%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

AlabamaMedian rent$1,007/moMedian home$209,900

TennesseeMedian rent$1,189/moMedian home$286,700

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	Alabama	Tennessee
Income tax (top rate)	5.00%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	9.46%	9.61%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

Alabama vs Tennessee: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Alabama to Tennessee and its purchasing power changes from $112,613 to $108,814 in national-average terms — a loss of $3,799. Alabama is the cheaper of the two, running at 88.8 on the price index versus 91.9.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: Alabama sits at 61.8 and Tennessee at 79.1 (100 = national). Alabama has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,007 in Alabama against $1,189 in Tennessee, and the typical home $209,900 versus $286,700. Alabama is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Alabama has 5.00% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 9.46%; Tennessee has no wage income tax and 9.61%. That income-tax difference can outweigh a chunk of the cost-of-living gap for higher earners.

Full profiles: Alabama ·Tennessee. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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