Skip to content
CityLedger

Nashville vs San Francisco

Metro-area medians — Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Nashville comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 10 clearly-decided measures.

Nashville is about 20% cheaper to live in, while San Francisco households earn about 53% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in San Francisco.

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.

Nashville, TN
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$63,644
real value after local prices
San Francisco, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$50,424
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Nashville leaves you about $13,220/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
Nashville
San Francisco
Livability (CityLedger)
69/100
77/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
96.3
115.6
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$92,175
$117,279
Median household income
$88,800
$135,590
Median rent
$1,627/mo
$2,435/mo
Median home value
$449,300
$1,132,900
Unemployment
3.4%
5.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
43.3%
53.8%
Average commute
28.7 min
32.7 min
Air quality (median AQI)
51
53
Avg temperature
61°F
58°F

Choose Nashville for

  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Nashville profile →

Choose San Francisco for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full San Francisco profile →

Nashville vs San Francisco — frequently asked

Is Nashville cheaper than San Francisco?
Nashville is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 20% below San Francisco's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Nashville or San Francisco?
San Francisco has the higher median household income — $135,590 versus $88,800 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 53% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Nashville or San Francisco?
A paycheck stretches further in San Francisco. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $117,279 there versus $92,175 in Nashville.
Which has cheaper rent, Nashville or San Francisco?
Nashville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,627/mo versus $2,435/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).