Dallas vs Knoxville Cost of Living
Knoxville is approximately 7.1% cheaper than Dallas. See salary equivalence, taxes, and side-by-side breakdown.
Dallas, TX
Knoxville, TN
| Salary in Dallas | Equivalent in Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,500 | -$3,500 (-7.0%) |
| $75,000 | $69,700 | -$5,300 (-7.1%) |
| $100,000 | $92,900 | -$7,100 (-7.1%) |
| $150,000 | $139,400 | -$10,600 (-7.1%) |
| $200,000 | $185,900 | -$14,100 (-7.1%) |
Knoxville costs about 7% less than Dallas overall, which means $92,929 in Knoxville buys roughly what $100,000 buys in Dallas.
Housing does most of the damage
Strip out housing and most US metros cost about the same. Housing is where the difference lives. A one-bedroom runs about $1,350 a month in Dallas and $1,150 in Knoxville — $200 a month apart, or $2,400 a year.
Ownership widens the gap. $400,000 buys the median home in Dallas; $320,000 does in Knoxville. The down payment alone differs by roughly $16,000, and that is before Texas and Tennessee property tax rates diverge.
Getting around
Dallas is served by limited transit; Knoxville is effectively car-dependent.
Work, weather, and what else is different
Dallas is a major metro of about 7.9M and growing fast; Knoxville is a smaller metro of about 0.9M and growing steadily.
Different economies entirely: telecommunications, banking/finance, technology drive Dallas, with AT&T (headquarters) and American Airlines (Fort Worth headquarters) among the anchors, against higher education/research, healthcare, manufacturing in Knoxville where University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (nearby) dominate. Treat this as a career move as much as a relocation.
Weather is not a rounding error when you actually live somewhere. Dallas: Humid subtropical: January highs near 56°F/lows 36°F, July highs near 96°F/lows 76°F, hot summers. Knoxville: January highs near 48°F/lows near 30°F; July highs near 87°F/lows near 68°F, humid.
No state income tax, offset by high property taxes — effective rates in the Dallas metro commonly exceed 2%, among the highest in the country. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, one of the lowest overall tax burdens among mid-size US metros, and sits at the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited national park in the US.
Overall cost ratios come from BEA Regional Price Parities. Housing figures track published market data and local tax rates come from the municipalities themselves. How these are compiled and updated.
Related tools
Paycheck calculator — take-home after federal, state and local tax. Salary calculator — hourly and annual conversion. Mortgage calculator — what a home in either metro actually costs monthly. Guide: the true cost of relocating.