Moving to Alaska from Tennessee
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Tennessee to Alaska — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Tennessee to Alaska, you would find that Alaska is 18.0% more expensive than Tennessee. A $75,000 salary in Tennessee would need to be roughly $88,500 in Alaska to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Anchorage averages 45°F vs 70°F in Nashville, making it significantly cooler. Nashville and Anchorage are about 3,200 mi apart.
Is Alaska cheaper than Tennessee?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 38.5% more
Groceries
pay 23.9% more
Transportation
pay 3.7% more
Housing
pay 20.7% more
Childcare
pay 22.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 38.1% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Alaska?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $88,500
To maintain the same standard of living in Alaska
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Tennessee and Alaska stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Tennessee generally does better on safety, though Alaska leads in property crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Alaska generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Tennessee leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Tennessee performs better than Alaska across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Alaska performs significantly better than Tennessee across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Alaska generally does better on employment & economy, though Tennessee leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Alaska performs significantly better than Tennessee across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Alaska vs Tennessee
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Nashville | Anchorage |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) | 28°/13°F (-2°/-11°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) | 56°/40°F (13°/4°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) | 63°/49°F (17°/9°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) | 31°/18°F (0°/-7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Nashville | Anchorage |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) | 23°/9°F (-5.1°/-12.9°C) |
| Feb | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) | 27°/11°F (-2.6°/-11.7°C) |
| Mar | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) | 35°/18°F (1.7°/-7.6°C) |
| Apr | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) | 46°/30°F (8.0°/-1.3°C) |
| May | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) | 58°/41°F (14.2°/5.0°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) | 65°/49°F (18.2°/9.4°C) |
| Jul | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 68°/53°F (20.0°/11.9°C) |
| Aug | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) | 65°/51°F (18.1°/10.4°C) |
| Sep | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) | 56°/42°F (13.5°/5.7°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) | 41°/29°F (5.2°/-1.6°C) |
| Nov | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) | 28°/15°F (-2.4°/-9.2°C) |
| Dec | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°C) | 24°/11°F (-4.2°/-11.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Alaska than Tennessee?
Day-to-day costs in Alaska run about 18% higher than Tennessee on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Alaska?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,125 in Alaska for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Alaska safe?
Tennessee generally does better on safety, though Alaska leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Alaska compared to Tennessee?
Alaska generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Tennessee leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Alaska compared to Tennessee?
The average high temperature in Anchorage is 45°F, compared to 70°F in Nashville. Anchorage receives around 17.9 in of rainfall per year, while Nashville gets 47.2 in.
