California vs Tennessee

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in California is worth

$90,334

at national prices · RPP 110.7BEA 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 +$18,480 further in Tennessee (+20.5% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

California: $100,000 ÷ (110.7 ÷ 100) = $90,334

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

difference: $108,814 − $90,334 = +$18,480

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	California	Tennessee	Difference
All items	110.7	91.9	−17.0%
Housing rents	154.3	79.1	−48.7%
Goods	106.1	96.2	−9.3%
Utilities	158.9	72.1	−54.6%
Other services	102.6	95.1	−7.3%

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.

CaliforniaMedian rent$2,036/moMedian home$734,700

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	California	Tennessee
Income tax (top rate)	13.30%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.99%	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 →

California vs Tennessee: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from California to Tennessee and its purchasing power changes from $90,334 to $108,814 in national-average terms — a gain of $18,480. Tennessee is the cheaper of the two, running at 91.9 on the price index versus 110.7.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: California sits at 158.9 and Tennessee at 72.1 (100 = national). Tennessee has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $2,036 in California against $1,189 in Tennessee, and the typical home $734,700 versus $286,700. Tennessee is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, California has 13.30% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.99%; 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: California ·Tennessee. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

Comparing a different pair?Use the full tool →