Jacksonville vs Knoxville Cost of Living
Knoxville is approximately 5.2% cheaper than Jacksonville. See salary equivalence, taxes, and side-by-side breakdown.
Jacksonville, FL
Knoxville, TN
| Salary in Jacksonville | Equivalent in Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,400 | -$2,600 (-5.2%) |
| $75,000 | $71,100 | -$3,900 (-5.2%) |
| $100,000 | $94,800 | -$5,200 (-5.2%) |
| $150,000 | $142,300 | -$7,700 (-5.1%) |
| $200,000 | $189,700 | -$10,300 (-5.2%) |
Knoxville costs about 5% less than Jacksonville overall, which means $94,845 in Knoxville buys roughly what $100,000 buys in Jacksonville.
Housing does most of the damage
Almost the entire gap between two cities is shelter. Tradable goods cost roughly the same everywhere; land does not. A one-bedroom runs about $1,350 a month in Jacksonville and $1,150 in Knoxville — $200 a month apart, or $2,400 a year.
Work, weather, and what else is different
Jacksonville is a mid-size metro of about 1.7M and growing steadily; Knoxville is a smaller metro of about 0.9M and growing steadily.
Both metros have real employment in healthcare, which matters if you want to move without changing careers — your experience is legible to employers in both. Jacksonville also leans on logistics/port operations and financial services, with employers like Naval Station Mayport / NAS Jacksonville and Bank of America (regional ops). Knoxville leans on higher education/research and manufacturing, with University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (nearby).
The part spreadsheets leave out. Jacksonville: January highs near 66°F/lows near 44°F; July highs near 92°F/lows near 74°F, hot and humid with frequent summer thunderstorms. Knoxville: January highs near 48°F/lows near 30°F; July highs near 87°F/lows near 68°F, humid.
No state income tax; the largest city by land area in the contiguous US (over 750 sq mi) due to a 1968 city-county consolidation, so 'Jacksonville' spans dense urban and rural areas alike. 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.
Cost indexes derive from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; rent, home prices and local tax rates are compiled from market and municipal sources. 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.