Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rhode Island vs. Tennessee Cost of Living Summary
Rhode Island is 22.2% more expensive than Tennessee.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.6% more in Rhode Island
- Groceries
-
pay 9.6% more in Rhode Island
- Transportation
-
pay 20.6% more in Rhode Island
- Housing
-
pay 40.2% more in Rhode Island
- Childcare
-
pay 39.8% more in Rhode Island
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.7% more in Rhode Island
- Clothing
-
pay 12.9% less in Rhode Island
Rhode Island vs. Tennessee Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rhode Island instead of Tennessee, you would:
pay 19.6% more for restaurants
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.27
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.66
|
$13.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.65
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
|
$2.32
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.6% more for groceries
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.26
|
$3.98
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.27
|
$5.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.85
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.00
|
$5.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.35
|
$6.08
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.85
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$1.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.38
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.99
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$1.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.29
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of groceries
pay 20.6% more for transportation
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.39
|
$4.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$43.71
|
$70.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,239.91
|
$36,541.58
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.38
|
$16.37
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of transportation
pay 40.2% more for housing
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.05
|
$76.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,477.03
|
$2,081.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,212.76
|
$1,759.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.79
|
$211.01
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of housing
pay 39.8% more for childcare
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,074.20
|
$1,824.60
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,313.44
|
$25,666.67
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of childcare
pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.46
|
$6.25
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.44
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.64
|
$13.11
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.08
|
$52.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.96
|
$14.28
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.9% less for clothing
|
Tennessee
|
Rhode Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.21
|
$47.12
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.52
|
$27.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.27
|
$92.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$121.26
|
$113.33
|
|
Tennessee vs. Rhode Island - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Tennessee vs. Rhode Island
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Rhode Island?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics
Be 29.4% more likely to be unemployed in Rhode Island
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Tennessee is about 39 times bigger than Rhode Island.
→
Moving from Tennessee to Rhode Island · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Nashville vs Providence
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Rhode Island or Tennessee. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.