Is Chattanooga cheaper than Jackson?

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

Which has higher household income, Chattanooga or Jackson?

Chattanooga has the higher median household income — $75,076 versus $64,835 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 16% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Chattanooga or Jackson?

A paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $82,083 there versus $72,809 in Jackson.

Which has cheaper rent, Chattanooga or Jackson?

Jackson has cheaper rent — a median of $1,100/mo versus $1,265/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Chattanooga vs Jackson

Metro-area medians — Chattanooga, TN-GA Metro Area vs Jackson, MS Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Chattanooga and Jackson are evenly matched, each taking 3 of the clearly-decided measures.

Chattanooga and Jackson cost about the same to live in, but Chattanooga households earn about 16% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga.

Their widest everyday difference: Jackson has cleaner air on a typical day — a median AQI of 48 versus 52.

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

Jackson, MS

$58,555

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$65,756

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Chattanooga leaves you about $1,279/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

Jackson

Livability (CityLedger)

51/100

39/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

91.5

89.0

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$82,083

$72,809

Median household income

$75,076

$64,835

Median rent

$1,265/mo

$1,100/mo

Median home value

$324,500

$210,000

Unemployment

4.7%

4.8%

Bachelor's degree or higher

32.4%

32.5%

Average commute

24.5 min

24.9 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

62°F

66°F

Choose Chattanooga for

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

Full Chattanooga profile →

Choose Jackson for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Jackson profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Chattanooga and Jackson on cost, income, size, and education.

Chattanooga vs Augusta→Chattanooga vs Winston-Salem→Chattanooga vs Knoxville→Jackson vs Montgomery→Jackson vs Little Rock→Jackson vs Winston-Salem→

Chattanooga vs Jackson — frequently asked

Is Chattanooga cheaper than Jackson?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Chattanooga and Jackson metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Chattanooga or Jackson?: Chattanooga has the higher median household income — $75,076 versus $64,835 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 16% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Chattanooga or Jackson?: A paycheck stretches further in Chattanooga. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $82,083 there versus $72,809 in Jackson.
Which has cheaper rent, Chattanooga or Jackson?: Jackson has cheaper rent — a median of $1,100/mo versus $1,265/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).