Cost of living comparison
compared to
Tennessee vs. New Jersey Cost of Living Summary
Tennessee is 16.5% cheaper than New Jersey.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.2% less in Tennessee
- Groceries
-
pay 18.4% less in Tennessee
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% less in Tennessee
- Housing
-
pay 7.3% less in Tennessee
- Childcare
-
pay 33.5% less in Tennessee
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.1% less in Tennessee
- Clothing
-
pay 7.8% less in Tennessee
Expenses including childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and housing are lower in Tennessee.
Tennessee vs. New Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Tennessee instead of New Jersey, you would:
pay 3.2% less for restaurants
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.95
|
$18.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.40
|
$10.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$2.84
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.04
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.4% less for groceries
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.17
|
$3.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.09
|
$5.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.24
|
$4.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.96
|
$5.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.76
|
$2.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
|
$1.27
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.60
|
$1.55
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% less for transportation
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$2.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.02
|
$43.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,841.50
|
$32,576.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.75
|
$15.68
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of transportation
pay 7.3% less for housing
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.68
|
$68.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,279.92
|
$1,440.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,885.98
|
$1,280.54
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.74
|
$166.18
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of housing
pay 33.5% less for childcare
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,023.96
|
$1,018.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,267.62
|
$22,585.44
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of childcare
pay 21.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.95
|
$5.33
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.79
|
$8.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.90
|
$36.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.52
|
$13.08
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.8% less for clothing
|
New Jersey
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.64
|
$50.54
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.26
|
$46.28
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.28
|
$94.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.81
|
$125.74
|
|
New Jersey vs. Tennessee - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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