Durham, NC vs Nashville, TN
Simple answer
You'd likely save $53 a month in Durham.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 5.7 points (Durham 98.9, Nashville 104.6).
North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Tennessee has no tax on wages. Combined sales tax differs by 2.6 percentage points, higher in Tennessee. The effective property tax gap is 0.17 percentage points, higher in North Carolina.
After a move from North Carolina to Tennessee, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Durham lines up with about $74,051 in Nashville on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Durham
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,745
- HUD area
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,598
- All-items price parity
- 97.6
- Goods price parity
- 96.6
- Utilities price parity
- 89.3
- Mean commute
- 24.4 min
- Median household income
- $83,542
Nashville
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,798
- HUD area
- Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,627
- All-items price parity
- 96.3
- Goods price parity
- 96.2
- Utilities price parity
- 72.0
- Mean commute
- 28.7 min
- Median household income
- $88,800
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$74,051
Salary in Nashville that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$70,407
Gross salary in Nashville whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$77,278
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | North Carolina | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 3.99% flat | No wage tax |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 7.0% | 9.6% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.61% | 0.45% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,455 a year in North Carolina and $1,790 in Tennessee. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Tennessee
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in North Carolina and once in Tennessee. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
WIC
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
School meals
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
LIHEAP
DurhamMaybe
NashvilleMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
DurhamUnlikely
NashvilleLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
DurhamLikely eligible
NashvilleLikely eligible
SSI
DurhamUnlikely
NashvilleUnlikely
| Program | Durham | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Durham the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Nashville it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” North Carolina expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Durham
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Durham.
- Durham and San Francisco · rent gap $1,952
- Durham and San Jose · rent gap $1,527
- Durham and Boston · rent gap $1,263
- Durham and New York · rent gap $1,226
- Durham and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,219
- Durham and San Diego · rent gap $1,078
- Durham and Miami · rent gap $819
- Durham and Seattle · rent gap $804
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.