01 · the cities
Boston
Boston is brick sidewalks, dive bars older than most states, and an accent that turns 'park the car' into a love language. The city is densely packed with colleges (Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, plus 30 more), which keeps it perpetually 22 years old in spirit. The Freedom Trail literally paints a red line through 400 years of American history. Dunkin' is not a chain here, it's a way of life.
full dispatch→Knoxville
Knoxville is the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains (the most-visited national park in the country, 30 minutes east), the University of Tennessee's Vol energy, and the gold-roofed Sunsphere left over from the 1982 World's Fair. Market Square downtown is brick, patios, and a Saturday farmers market that takes over the whole space. The food and bar scene has come into its own. The mountains do the heavy lifting.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,145/mo
$1,731/mo
$1,414/mo less than Boston (82%)
Median home price
Median home price
$771k
$364k
$407k less than Boston
State income tax
State income tax
5.0%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,772/mo
$6,602/mo
Knoxville has $1,830/mo more gross after rent at $100k
Gross left after rent reflects state income tax but not federal, based on $100k salary. Enter your salary to find your ideal city.
03 · the weather
Pleasant days/yr
Pleasant days/yr
160 days
189 days
29 more than Boston
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
3 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
33 days
9 days
days below 20°F per year
Boston drops below 20°F on 24 more days per year than Knoxville.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
69 / 100
2.0 pts behind Boston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
103 routes
17 routes
86 fewer direct routes than Boston
Metro size
Metro size
4.9M metro
947k metro
Boston has 4.0x more events per month than Knoxville.
the verdict
2
Boston
categories won
6
Knoxville
categories won
Knoxville wins on money and weather. Boston has the edge on lifestyle.
run your numbers
How far does your Boston salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works