What does the Montgomery County, PA vs Davidson County, TN comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Can I change the salary and family type?

Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

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Montgomery County, PA vs Davidson County, TN: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

Montgomery County, PA is cheaper than Davidson County, TN.

Moving to Davidson County, TN is estimated to cost $70 more per year.

Cheaper County

Montgomery County, PASpend $70 more per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Montgomery County, PA is about $50,060 in Davidson County, TN.

Biggest drivers

Healthcare increases by $2,333 per year. Taxes saves $1,831 per year.

Housing: $826 higher in Davidson County, TN

Taxes: $1,831 lower in Davidson County, TN

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $2,333 higher in Davidson County, TN

Food: $150 lower in Davidson County, TN

Transport: $1,319 lower in Davidson County, TN

Montgomery County, PA→Davidson County, TN

Equivalent salary in Davidson County, TN

$50,060

+0.12% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Montgomery County, PA: $140,263

Median Income in Davidson County, TN: $96,175

Living Index in Montgomery County, PA 42.69%

Living Index in Davidson County, TN 62.34%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Montgomery County, PA to Davidson County, TN.

* Living index is estimated as (estimated total cost / area median income) * 100. A living index above 100% means modeled costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from Montgomery County, PA to Davidson County, TN is estimated to cost $70 more per year. To maintain similar purchasing power, a $50,000 salary in Montgomery County, PA would need to be about $50,060 in Davidson County, TN. The biggest increase is healthcare, followed by housing.

This is a 0.12% increase in modeled annual costs. Healthcare is $2,333 per year higher (60.01%); Housing is $826 per year higher (4.42%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Davidson County, TN.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Davidson County, TN

Annual Increase:

$2,333 per year

HEALTHCARE has the largest annual increase when moving to Davidson County, TN.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Davidson County, TN

Annual Savings:

$1,831 per year

TAXES has the largest annual savings when moving to Davidson County, TN.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	4.42% higher
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $18674.00 $19500.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	-3.06% lower
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $4904.00 $4754.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	-10.26% lower
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $12851.00 $11532.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	60.01% higher
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $3888.00 $6221.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	2.87% higher
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $7320.00 $7530.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Childcare	0.00% higher
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	-14.95% lower
Montgomery County, PA Davidson County, TN Average Cost $12248.00 $10417.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In Davidson County, TN, modeled annual costs are $59,955 compared with $59,885 in Montgomery County, PA.

Overall, annual costs are higher in Davidson County, TN. The category breakdown above shows whether housing, taxes, transportation, healthcare, food, childcare, or other necessities are driving the increase.

In this case Davidson County, TN and Montgomery County, PA are both metropolitan locations.

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