Shelby County · Tennessee · South · 619k residents
Memphis, TN: cost of living, taxes & quality of life
Residential facts for Memphis: housing, taxes, monthly costs, climate, schools, and household income, with the Tennessee median as the yardstick. Compare it live against any of 3,000 US cities.
Data coverage: Curated city row; coverage varies by fact.
The median home value in Memphis is $190,000, 38% below the Tennessee median. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,250/mo. Day-to-day costs index at 86 against a national baseline of 100. The median household here earns $51,000 a year.
What the numbers show
Source-confirmed findingsLimited coverage: This profile does not yet have enough source-confirmed local data for a city brief.
This profile does not yet have enough source-confirmed local data for a city brief.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates(2024 ACS 5-year; tables B01003, B15003, B19013, B25077). Geography: Census place where available. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
WhereToHQ calculates the comparisons. Figures are estimates for context, not a guarantee or personal financial advice. Read the methodology or send a correction.
What makes this place distinctive
A factual snapshot of the place, based on the profile data. It is not a tourism or cultural claim.
A Mississippi river city where blues, barbecue, and civil rights history remain close to the surface.
Known for: Beale Street, the blues, barbecue, Stax, Sun Studio, and the National Civil Rights Museum.
Calendar note: Memphis in May is the city’s signature annual festival season.
Story source: Memphis Travel
- Scale: A large city with a quarter-million or more residents in the profile data.
- Setting: The profile places Memphis about 154 miles from the nearest tracked lake.
- Climate signal: The profile records 218 sunny days and 3 inches of annual snow.
- Daily pace: The profile records a walk score of 35 and an average commute of 23 minutes.
WhereToHQ derives these signals from the committed city dataset. Read the methodology for coverage and source limits.
Compare Memphis side by side
Cost of living index
86
Median home value
$190,000
2-bedroom rent
$1,250/mo
Median household income
$51,000
Housing momentum
How fast Memphis's housing market is moving, ranked against the US cities we track.
19/100
Cooling
Ranks Memphis's home-price and rent growth against the US cities we cover. The label is relative pace, not a direction, so a market can rank low while some figures still rise. A higher score moves faster, it is not cheaper or better. Not investment or relocation advice.
Adjusted by Memphis's cost-of-living index versus the US average.
| Median home value | $190,000 |
| Price per sq. ft. | $115 |
| Property tax rate | 1.35% |
| 1-bedroom rent | $1,050/mo |
| 2-bedroom rent | $1,250/mo |
| State & local income tax | 0% |
| Sales tax | 9.75% |
| Cost of living index | 86 |
| Groceries index | 93 |
| Utilities | $165/mo |
| Transit pass | $50/mo |
| Gas price | $2.85/gal |
| Healthcare index | 92 |
| Childcare (per child) | $900/mo |
| Median household income | $51,000 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% |
| Population | 619k |
| Crime index | 68/100 |
| School rating | 4.5/10 |
| Walkability | 35/100 |
| Disaster risk | 99/100 |
| Avg. commute | 23 min |
| Sunny days / year | 218 days |
| July high | 92°F |
| January low | 33°F |
| Annual snowfall | 3 in |
| Home price YoY | -3.1% |
| Home price MoM | -0.5% |
| Rent YoY | +0.8% |
| Rent MoM | +0.2% |
| Ocean coast | 327 mi |
| Big lake | 154 mi |
| Mountains | 181 mi |
| Major airport | 3 mi |
| Ski resort | 245 mi |
Popular comparisons
Nearby
- Germantown, TN · 41k
- Bartlett, TN · 57k
- Collierville, TN · 52k
- Arlington, TN · 15k
- Jackson, TN · 68k
Similar size
- Nashville, TN · 690k
- Knoxville, TN · 195k
- Chattanooga, TN · 186k
- Clarksville, TN · 176k
- Murfreesboro, TN · 161k
Real listings in Memphis
Homes on Zillow ↗Realtor.com ↗Rentals on Zillow ↗Apartments.com ↗
Links open third-party listing searches. WhereToHQ has no paid relationship with these sites.
- What is the cost of living in Memphis, TN?
- Memphis indexes at 86 for day-to-day costs against a national baseline of 100, with a typical two-bedroom renting for $1,250/mo and a median home value of $190,000.
- How much does a house cost in Memphis?
- The median home value in Memphis is $190,000, 38% below the Tennessee median (compiled estimate; individual listings vary).
- How much is rent in Memphis?
- A two-bedroom in Memphis rents for about $1,250/mo.