What does the Shelby County, TN vs Marion County, IN 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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Shelby County, TN vs Marion County, IN: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

Marion County, IN is cheaper than Shelby County, TN.

Moving to Marion County, IN is estimated to save $4,886 per year.

Cheaper County

Marion County, INSave about $4,886 per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Shelby County, TN is about $44,970 in Marion County, IN.

Biggest drivers

Taxes increases by $319 per year. Housing saves $2,502 per year.

Housing: $2,502 lower in Marion County, IN

Taxes: $319 higher in Marion County, IN

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $726 lower in Marion County, IN

Food: $496 lower in Marion County, IN

Transport: $550 lower in Marion County, IN

Shelby County, TN→Marion County, IN

Equivalent salary in Marion County, IN

$44,970

-10.06% lower

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Shelby County, TN: $80,849

Median Income in Marion County, IN: $80,642

Living Index in Shelby County, TN 60.05%

Living Index in Marion County, IN 54.15%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Shelby County, TN to Marion County, IN.

* 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 Shelby County, TN to Marion County, IN is estimated to save $4,886 per year. A $50,000 salary in Shelby County, TN would have similar purchasing power to about $44,970 in Marion County, IN. The largest savings come from housing and other costs.

This is a 10.06% decrease in modeled annual costs. Housing is $2,502 per year lower (18.76%); Other Costs is $931 per year lower (16.91%).

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 Marion County, IN.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Marion County, IN

Annual Increase:

$319 per year

TAXES has the largest annual increase when moving to Marion County, IN.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Marion County, IN

Annual Savings:

$2,502 per year

HOUSING has the largest annual savings when moving to Marion County, IN.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	-18.76% lower
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $13334.00 $10832.00 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	-11.28% lower
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $4396.00 $3900.00 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	-4.62% lower
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $11908.00 $11358.00 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	-12.62% lower
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $5753.00 $5027.00 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	-16.91% lower
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $5505.00 $4574.00 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
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN 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	4.17% higher
Shelby County, TN Marion County, IN Average Cost $7656.00 $7975.00 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 Marion County, IN, modeled annual costs are $43,667 compared with $48,553 in Shelby County, TN.

Overall, annual costs are lower in Marion County, IN. The category breakdown above shows where the move creates the most room in the budget.

In this case Marion County, IN and Shelby County, TN are both metropolitan locations.

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