Moving to Tennessee from Texas
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Texas to Tennessee — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Texas to Tennessee, you would find that Tennessee is 2.9% more expensive than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $77,200 in Tennessee to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Nashville averages 70°F vs 80°F in Houston, making it significantly cooler. Houston and Nashville are about 670 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Tennessee? Get a shortlist of towns in Tennessee that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Tennessee cheaper than Texas?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 0.2% more
Groceries
pay 8.2% more
Transportation
pay 10.4% less
Housing
pay 9.2% more
Childcare
pay 8.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.0% 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 Tennessee?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $77,200
To maintain the same standard of living in Tennessee
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Tennessee cost about 5% less than cities in Texas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Texas to Tennessee.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Texas performs better than Tennessee across all safety metrics.
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
Texas 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 significantly better than Texas across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Texas generally does better on infrastructure, though Tennessee leads in average commute.
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
Texas 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
Texas performs 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 Tennessee vs Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Tennessee than Texas?
No — Tennessee is on average about 3% more expensive than Texas. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Tennessee?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,300 in Tennessee on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Tennessee safe?
Texas performs better than Tennessee across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Tennessee compared to Texas?
Texas generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Tennessee leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Tennessee compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in Nashville is 70°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. Nashville receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
