Overall
91.5
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Chattanooga, TN-GA
Cost-of-living indicators for Chattanooga, TN-GA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 91.5
- Overall RPP
- #259
- of 387 metros
- 76.5
- Rents RPP
- $109K
- $100K national buys
Chattanooga ranks #259 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Toledo
The verdict
Chattanooga costs less than 67% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 91.5, 8.5% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 74.2.
- bottom 33%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 74.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $109,333 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $91,464.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$91,464
in Chattanooga, TN-GA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,732
$75,000 nationally
$68,598
$125,000 nationally
$114,330
$150,000 nationally
$137,196
$200,000 nationally
$182,928
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
55/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
55th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Chattanooga's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Chattanooga: their index is 74.2, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 91.5 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lexington-Fayette, KY, Billings, MT, Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN. They resemble Chattanooga across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Chattanooga's overall index has stayed within 0.7 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Chattanooga vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
92 Bottom 33% higher than 33% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Chattanooga cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
76.6 RPP
- Services
Services
74.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
91.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96 RPP
What this shows Chattanooga's strongest departure is services at 74.2; rents follows at 76.5. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Chattanooga's cost comes from
Metros near Chattanooga's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Chattanooga (Chattanooga, this metro): goods RPP 96, rents RPP 76.6
- Toledo: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 67.3
- Iowa City: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 84
- Evansville: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 66.7
- Fayetteville: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 76.9
- Lincoln: goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 84.2
- Lubbock: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 76.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.0
Below avg
Services
74.2
Cheap
Rents
76.5
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Chattanooga's overall RPP fell -0.9 points, from 92.3 in 2023 to 91.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 78.9 to 74.2. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.7 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 4.7 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Chattanooga overall RPP, 2008-2024
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.2 |
| 2009 | 91.6 |
| 2010 | 93.8 |
| 2011 | 93.6 |
| 2012 | 94.4 |
| 2013 | 93.4 |
| 2014 | 93.5 |
| 2015 | 93.6 |
| 2016 | 93.8 |
| 2017 | 94.1 |
| 2018 | 89.4 |
| 2019 | 91.3 |
| 2020 | 90.1 |
| 2021 | 90.0 |
| 2022 | 92.5 |
| 2023 | 92.3 |
| 2024 | 91.5 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Chattanooga, TN-GA's index of 91.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
TN-relative analysis
Goods prices places Chattanooga, TN-GA near the bottom of TN's metros
Among the 10 TN metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Chattanooga, TN-GA ranks #10 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Chattanooga, TN-GA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#10 of 10
0th percentile in TN
Services prices
#2 of 10
80th percentile in TN
Rent prices
#4 of 10
60th percentile in TN
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within TN only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Chattanooga, TN-GA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (91.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (76.5 here).
Other TN Metros
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 96.3 Knoxville, TN 92.6 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 92.2 Clarksville, TN-KY 90.9 Cleveland, TN 88.1 Johnson City, TN 87.9
View all TN metros → Cheapest in TN → Most expensive in TN →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Chattanooga's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Lexington-Fayette, KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.6 · Rents 77.1 Billings, MT
Goods 96.0 · Services 72.4 · Rents 77.4 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Goods 96.2 · Services 75.0 · Rents 78.6 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
Goods 93.6 · Services 75.1 · Rents 76.9 Clarksville, TN-KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.5 · Rents 73.8 Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.1 · Rents 79.8
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Chattanooga
How to read Chattanooga's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $109,333 in Chattanooga. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 74.2, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Chattanooga head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Chattanooga, TN-GA?
Chattanooga, TN-GA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 91.5, meaning it is 8.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.0, services at 74.2, and rents at 76.5. It ranks #259 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Chattanooga, TN-GA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $91,464 in Chattanooga, TN-GA. Conversely, $100K earned in Chattanooga, TN-GA has the purchasing power of $109,333 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Chattanooga, TN-GA?
Rents in Chattanooga, TN-GA are indexed at 76.5, which is 23.5% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Chattanooga, TN-GA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Chattanooga, TN-GA's overall cost index changed by -0.7 points (from 92.2 to 91.5). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Chattanooga, TN-GA?
The priciest category in Chattanooga, TN-GA is goods at 96.0, 4.0% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 74.2, 25.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Chattanooga, TN-GA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Toledo, Iowa City, Evansville. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Chattanooga, TN-GA's 91.5.
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.