Is Chattanooga cheaper than Winston-Salem?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Chattanooga and Winston-Salem metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?

Chattanooga has the higher median household income — $75,076 versus $65,903 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 14% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?

A paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $82,083 there versus $71,600 in Winston-Salem.

Which has cheaper rent, Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?

Winston-Salem has cheaper rent — a median of $1,102/mo versus $1,265/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Chattanooga vs Winston-Salem

Metro-area medians — Chattanooga, TN-GA Metro Area vs Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Winston-Salem comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Chattanooga and Winston-Salem cost about the same to live in, but Chattanooga households earn about 14% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Chattanooga, TN

$61,314

take-home / yr · 18% to tax

$67,036

real value after local prices

Winston-Salem, NC

$58,668

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$63,740

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Chattanooga leaves you about $3,296/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Chattanooga

Winston-Salem

Livability (CityLedger)

51/100

46/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

91.5

92.0

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$82,083

$71,600

Median household income

$75,076

$65,903

Median rent

$1,265/mo

$1,102/mo

Median home value

$324,500

$270,700

Unemployment

4.7%

3.4%

Bachelor's degree or higher

32.4%

33.4%

Average commute

24.5 min

23.8 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

62°F

60°F

Choose Chattanooga for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income

Full Chattanooga profile →

Choose Winston-Salem for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Winston-Salem profile →

Chattanooga vs Winston-Salem — frequently asked

Is Chattanooga cheaper than Winston-Salem?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Chattanooga and Winston-Salem metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?: Chattanooga has the higher median household income — $75,076 versus $65,903 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 14% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?: A paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $82,083 there versus $71,600 in Winston-Salem.
Which has cheaper rent, Chattanooga or Winston-Salem?: Winston-Salem has cheaper rent — a median of $1,102/mo versus $1,265/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).