New York vs Tennessee

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in New York is worth

$92,678

at national prices · RPP 107.9BEA 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 +$16,136 further in Tennessee (+17.4% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

New York: $100,000 ÷ (107.9 ÷ 100) = $92,678

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

difference: $108,814 − $92,678 = +$16,136

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	New York	Tennessee	Difference
All items	107.9	91.9	−14.8%
Housing rents	122.2	79.1	−35.3%
Goods	107.3	96.2	−10.3%
Utilities	134.4	72.1	−46.4%
Other services	104.1	95.1	−8.6%

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.

New YorkMedian rent$1,621/moMedian home$423,800

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	New York	Tennessee
Income tax (top rate)	10.90%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.54%	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 →

New York vs Tennessee: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from New York to Tennessee and its purchasing power changes from $92,678 to $108,814 in national-average terms — a gain of $16,136. Tennessee is the cheaper of the two, running at 91.9 on the price index versus 107.9.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: New York sits at 134.4 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 $1,621 in New York against $1,189 in Tennessee, and the typical home $423,800 versus $286,700. Tennessee is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, New York has 10.90% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.54%; 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: New York ·Tennessee. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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