What is the cost of living in Memphis?

Memphis has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 79.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,274/month.

What is the median salary in Memphis?

The median salary in Memphis is $65,102 annually (mean: $68,808). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Retail Salespersons.

The violent crime rate in the Memphis area is 602 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Memphis?

The state of TN has 1,844 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1. Charter schools make up 6.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Memphis?

Infant center-based childcare in the Memphis area averages $7,860 per year. Preschool averages $6,190/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Memphis a good place to relocate?

Memphis has a Life Score of 43.7/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Memphis sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Memphis ranks #300 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

LiveAbility 43.3/100 places Memphis #300 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,274
2BR rent / mo: $65,102
Median salary: 43.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Memphis ranks #300 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (43.3/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#300
of 387 US metros · Below median: 7,227,750
metro-area population: 602
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,844
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (2/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Memphis ranks #300 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,274/mo, median salary $65,102; LiveAbility Score 43.3/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: LiveAbility 43.3/100 places Memphis #300 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.2 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,274/mo.

LiveAbility 43.3/100 puts Memphis in the bottom third (#300 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Memphis area is 597,090.

Memphis vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

43 Top 78% higher than 22% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Memphis housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Memphis MSA; housing RPP 79.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,274/mo.

Studio

$1,060

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,154

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,274

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,683

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,959

/month

Memphis wages and employment

Memphis posts 597,090 total employment with median salary $65,102.

Median Salary

$65,102

Mean Salary

$68,808

Total Employment

597,090

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$39,510
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$63,070
Retail Salespersons	$32,580
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,490
Registered Nurses	$81,500

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Memphis area from NCES.

Schools

1,844

Enrollment

994,264

Student:Teacher

15.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Memphis area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,860

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,190

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,190

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Memphis's composite Life Score is 43.7/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

61/100

Above average

Wages

46/100

Average

Rent

53/100

Average

Crime

2/100

Bottom decile

Schools

52/100

Average

Childcare

67/100

Strong

Environment

21/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Memphis ranks #300 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 43.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (88/100)

Climate

88
Cost of living

61
Housing

53
Schools

48
Job market

46
Low hazard

38
Air quality

6
Safety

2

What this shows Memphis's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Memphis to

Cape Girardeau Carson City Casper Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana

Metros near Memphis on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Memphis on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Memphis cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Memphis wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Memphis?

Memphis runs a $65,102 median salary at a 92.2 cost index, ranking #300 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Memphis's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Memphis head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Memphis
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.