Knoxville → Asheville
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Knoxville to Asheville is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.6 to 96.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $96/mo.
- +$1,016
- BLS median salary higher in Asheville
- 602 to 365
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.3:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,627
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Asheville
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + Lower violent crime rate
Cons of Moving
- - 4% higher cost of living
- - $96/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 92.6 to 96.5 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $96/mo ($1,152/yr) from $1,471 in Knoxville to $1,567 in Asheville.
Knoxville still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Asheville sits #262 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Knoxville is #341/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,016 higher ($63,333 → $64,349). Labor-market size: 415,720 tracked jobs at origin vs 172,630 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Tennessee 66 (C, #17/51) vs North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
- Income tax
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Knoxville to see what you'd need to earn in Asheville to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026