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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Nashville to Urban Honolulu

Nashville, TN vs Urban Honolulu, HI

Simple answer

You'd likely save $744 a month in Nashville.

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 Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $744: Urban Honolulu is higher at $2,542 versus $1,798.

Tennessee has no tax on wages. Hawaii taxes wages at rates up to 11.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 5.1 percentage points, higher in Tennessee. The effective property tax gap is 0.18 percentage points, higher in Tennessee.

After a move from Tennessee to Hawaii, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: LIHEAP, Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.

A $75,000 salary in Nashville lines up with about $86,384 in Urban Honolulu on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

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

Urban Honolulu

Urban Honolulu, HI

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,542
HUD area
Urban Honolulu, HI MSA
Census median gross rent
$2,001
All-items price parity
111.0
Goods price parity
111.6
Utilities price parity
187.3
Mean commute
27.3 min
Median household income
$105,205

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

$86,384

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

After state and federal tax

$96,544

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

Rent only

$106,034

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

TaxTennesseeHawaii
State income tax on wagesNo wage taxup to 11.00%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.6%4.5%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.45%0.27%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,790 a year in Tennessee and $1,089 in Hawaii. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Hawaii

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Tennessee and once in Hawaii. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • WIC

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • School meals

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    NashvilleMaybe

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    NashvilleLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • SSI

    NashvilleUnlikely

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

LIHEAP changes. In Nashville the result is “Maybe — the state picks the line inside the federal range.” In Urban Honolulu it is “Likely on the federal income floor.” Income is inside the federal floor, so an income-only denial should not apply.

Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Nashville the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Urban Honolulu it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” Hawaii expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.

Medicaid guide for Hawaii · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Nashville

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Nashville.

Nearby metros

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