Moving to Tennessee from Wisconsin
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wisconsin to Tennessee — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Tennessee, you would find that Tennessee is 0.6% cheaper than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $78,677 in Tennessee to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Nashville averages 70°F vs 56°F in Madison, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Wisconsin to Tennessee.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $78,677
To maintain the same standard of living in Tennessee
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 6.7% more
Groceries
pay 5.5% more
Transportation
pay 7.6% less
Housing
pay 18.9% more
Childcare
pay 33.9% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Wisconsin and Tennessee 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
Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin performs better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Wisconsin performs better than Tennessee across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Wisconsin performs 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
Wisconsin generally does better on employment & economy, though Tennessee leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Wisconsin performs better than Tennessee across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Madison | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 33°/17°F (1°/-8°C) | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/57°F (25°/14°C) | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 44°/28°F (7°/-2°C) | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Madison | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26°/11°F (-3.1°/-11.6°C) | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) |
| Feb | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.4°C) | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) |
| Mar | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-4.0°C) | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) |
| Apr | 57°/36°F (14.1°/2.1°C) | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) |
| May | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) |
| Jun | 78°/56°F (25.5°/13.4°C) | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.6°/16.1°C) | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) |
| Aug | 79°/59°F (26.3°/15.0°C) | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) |
| Sep | 72°/50°F (22.1°/10.1°C) | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.9°/3.8°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) |
| Nov | 44°/28°F (6.7°/-2.1°C) | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 30°/16°F (-1.0°/-8.9°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Tennessee than Wisconsin?
Day-to-day costs in Tennessee run about 5% higher than Wisconsin on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Tennessee?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,669 in Tennessee for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Tennessee safe?
Wisconsin performs better than Tennessee across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Tennessee compared to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin performs better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Tennessee compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Nashville is 70°F, compared to 56°F in Madison. Nashville receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Madison gets 34.5 in.
