Cost of Living inMemphis, TN, United States
Image credit: Larry Donald, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). United States: $75,489/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 30% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.7 / 10
#22 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for United States; Memphis, TN-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Mixed public-school option
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
The United States has many excellent public schools, but quality varies sharply by district and neighborhood.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can use local public schools, but school quality depends heavily on district assignment and housing location.
🗺️ Homeschooling
Varies by stateHomeschooling is legal in all 50 US states but regulations vary dramatically. Some states (TX, AK, ID) have minimal oversight; others (NY, PA, MA) require notification, testing, and curriculum approval. Most worldschooling families establish residency in low-regulation states.
Homeschool legality in United States — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Memphis, TN, United States.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$2,250-$2,900
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$2,800-$3,600
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Memphis: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
International airport
Memphis International gives the city dependable domestic coverage and practical regional reach even though its passenger network is smaller than the biggest US hubs.
Urban transit
Bus-first local transit
MATA keeps many core-city trips workable, but most family mobility across greater Memphis still depends on driving.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft available
Ride-hailing is a routine complement for airport runs, suburban errands, and first/last-mile gaps beyond the bus network.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in United States.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and relatively low patient cost-sharing help, but the tracked facility mix leans away from public providers.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
88/100
2023
Physicians
3.68/1k
2022
Hospital beds
2.68/1k
2022
Out of pocket
11%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
78.9 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
17/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
3.7/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in United States yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-07-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Information & Technology | $151,799/yr |
| Finance & Insurance | $121,208/yr |
| Professional & Scientific Services | $117,041/yr |
| Utilities | $112,957/yr |
| Manufacturing | $98,866/yr |
| Transport & Logistics | $93,136/yr |
| Mining & Quarrying | $91,416/yr |
| Healthcare & Social Work | $77,132/yr |
| Real Estate | $76,212/yr |
| Other Services | $75,201/yr |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | $73,021/yr |
| Education | $72,984/yr |
| Construction | $70,307/yr |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | $69,728/yr |
| Administrative & Support Services | $64,485/yr |
| Agriculture & Farming | $48,417/yr |
| Hospitality & Food Service | $38,217/yr |
2025 annual wages in Memphis, TN, United States · Source: BLS OEWS (MSA-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Long-Term Visa Programs
investment
US EB-5 Immigrant Investor (Standard)Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Memphis compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.2x further in Memphis than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Memphis cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Memphis is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 30% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Memphis. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Memphis compare with New York City?
Rent in Memphis is about 63% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Memphis?
Groceries in Memphis are about 24% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 28% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Memphis, TN
Memphis is the second-largest city in Tennessee in the US South, sitting on the high bluffs above the Mississippi River at the Arkansas and Mississippi state lines, and serves as the cultural anchor of the Mid-South with deep ties to Beale Street blues, Stax soul, and the Sun Records rock-and-roll heritage. The local economy is dominated by FedEx whose global hub at Memphis International is the busiest cargo airport in the Western Hemisphere, plus AutoZone and International Paper headquarters and a substantial medical district anchored by St Jude. Relocators get genuinely cheap housing, no state income tax-equivalent burdens, and central US logistics convenience, but should weigh persistent violent-crime rates that rank among the highest of major US cities and hot humid summers.
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