Cost of living comparison
compared to
Tennessee vs. Pennsylvania Cost of Living Summary
Tennessee is 3.7% cheaper than Pennsylvania.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.4% more in Tennessee
- Groceries
-
pay 9.0% less in Tennessee
- Transportation
-
pay 14.5% less in Tennessee
- Housing
-
pay 6.5% more in Tennessee
- Childcare
-
pay 21.9% less in Tennessee
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.5% less in Tennessee
- Clothing
-
pay 10.2% more in Tennessee
The cost of clothing, restaurants, and housing in Tennessee are more expensive than in Pennsylvania. Expenses including childcare, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Tennessee.
Tennessee vs. Pennsylvania Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Tennessee instead of Pennsylvania, you would:
pay 7.4% more for restaurants
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.35
|
$18.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.53
|
$10.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.39
|
$2.84
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.04
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.0% less for groceries
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.50
|
$3.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.29
|
$5.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.21
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.15
|
$4.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.39
|
$5.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.11
|
$1.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.27
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$1.55
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of groceries
pay 14.5% less for transportation
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$2.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.77
|
$43.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,293.42
|
$32,576.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.76
|
$15.68
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of transportation
pay 6.5% more for housing
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.32
|
$68.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,401.89
|
$1,440.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,229.68
|
$1,280.54
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.67
|
$166.18
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of housing
pay 21.9% less for childcare
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,240.98
|
$1,018.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,464.89
|
$22,585.44
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of childcare
pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.29
|
$5.33
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.04
|
$5.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.28
|
$8.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.69
|
$36.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.09
|
$13.08
|
|
Pennsylvania vs. Tennessee - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.2% more for clothing
|
Pennsylvania
|
Tennessee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.59
|
$50.54
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.05
|
$46.28
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.26
|
$94.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$104.87
|
$125.74
|
|
Pennsylvania 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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