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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Jacksonville to Knoxville

Jacksonville, FL vs Knoxville, TN

Simple answer

You'd likely save $219 a month in Knoxville.

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 Census rent. Census median gross rent differs by $406, with Jacksonville higher.

Florida has no tax on wages. Tennessee has no tax on wages. Combined sales tax differs by 2.6 percentage points, higher in Tennessee. The effective property tax gap is 0.31 percentage points, higher in Florida.

After a move from Florida to Tennessee, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Jacksonville lines up with about $69,787 in Knoxville on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville, FL

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,694
HUD area
Jacksonville, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,625
All-items price parity
99.5
Goods price parity
96.2
Utilities price parity
87.5
Mean commute
27.4 min
Median household income
$82,053

Knoxville

Knoxville, TN

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,475
HUD area
Knoxville, TN HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,219
All-items price parity
92.6
Goods price parity
96.2
Utilities price parity
71.9
Mean commute
24.7 min
Median household income
$74,184

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.

Same buying power

$69,787

Salary in Knoxville that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$68,914

Gross salary in Knoxville whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$65,304

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

TaxFloridaTennessee
State income tax on wagesNo wage taxNo wage tax
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.0%9.6%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.75%0.45%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $3,016 a year in Florida 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 Florida and once in Tennessee. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • WIC

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • School meals

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    JacksonvilleMaybe

    KnoxvilleMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    JacksonvilleLikely eligible

    KnoxvilleLikely eligible

  • SSI

    JacksonvilleUnlikely

    KnoxvilleUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Tennessee · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.