Overall
- Knoxville
- 92.6
- Champaign-Urbana
- 92.7
Diff +0.1 RPP
Knoxville vs Champaign-Urbana
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Champaign-Urbana is 0.1% more expensive than Knoxville.
0.1% more expensive
Champaign-Urbana, IL is 0.1% more expensive than Knoxville, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.6). A $100,000 salary in Knoxville buys about the same as $100,146 in Champaign-Urbana; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.6 (Knoxville) vs 92.7 (Champaign-Urbana)
- $100k in Knoxville ≈ $100,146 purchasing power in Champaign-Urbana
- Services drives the gap (+18.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:IL 92.6→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × IL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Knoxville
92.6
Cost Index
Champaign-Urbana
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Knoxville, TN and Champaign-Urbana, IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Champaign-Urbana is 18.6 points higher. But rents and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Knoxville to $100,146 in Champaign-Urbana, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Knoxville
- 96.2
- Champaign-Urbana
- 93.6
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
- Knoxville
- 71.9
- Champaign-Urbana
- 90.5
Diff +18.6 RPP
Rents
- Knoxville
- 82.8
- Champaign-Urbana
- 71.6
Diff -11.2 RPP
| Category | Knoxville | Champaign-Urbana | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.6 | 92.7 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.6 | -2.6 |
| Services | 71.9 | 90.5 | +18.6 |
| Rents | 82.8 | 71.6 | -11.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Knoxville 92.6
Champaign-Urbana 92.7
Goods
Knoxville 96.2
Champaign-Urbana 93.6
Services
Knoxville 71.9
Champaign-Urbana 90.5
Rents
Knoxville 82.8
Champaign-Urbana 71.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Knoxville would need to be in Champaign-Urbana for the same purchasing power:
| In Knoxville | In Champaign-Urbana | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,073 | +$73 |
| $75,000 | $75,109 | +$109 |
| $100,000 | $100,146 | +$146 |
| $150,000 | $150,219 | +$219 |
$ in Knoxville = in Champaign-Urbana
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.6 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Champaign-Urbana more expensive than Knoxville?
Champaign-Urbana is 0.1% more expensive than Knoxville. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Champaign-Urbana equals $100K in Knoxville?
A $100,000 salary in Knoxville has the same purchasing power as $100,146 in Champaign-Urbana. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Knoxville and Champaign-Urbana?
Rents in Knoxville are indexed at 82.8 while Champaign-Urbana is at 71.6 (national average = 100). Knoxville has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.