Cost of Living in Johnson City, Tennessee

Published: September 17, 2020 8:28 pm

Cost of Living in Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City is a city in Washington County, Tennessee, with a population of 66,037. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Johnson City is $31,838 a year — less than the annual cost of living for Tennessee of $34,350 and less than the national figure of $38,433.

Using cost of living data from the nonprofift think tank Economic Policy Institute, 24/7 Wall St. estimated the cost of living in Johnson City and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in Johnson City, Tennessee

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In Johnson City, the median home value is $165,900, less than the national median home value of $204,900. The median price of a home built in 1939 or earlier is $122,800, while the median value of a home built in 2014 or later is $446,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In Johnson City, some 47.50% of occupied homes are rented, greater than the 36.2% national renter rate. The typical renter in Johnson City spends $734 a month on housing, greater than the $1,023 national median monthly rent.

In addition to home value, one of the largest determinants of housing affordability is area income. While nationwide the price of a typical U.S. home is 3.4 times the $60,293 U.S. median household income, housing affordability ratios range from approximately 1.0 in the least expensive cities to more than 10.0 in the country's most expensive markets. In Johnson City, the median household income is $40,786, 4.1 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in Johnson City, Tennessee

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Johnson City, 89.80% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 29.00% of workers commute to jobs outside of Johnson City, a smaller share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Johnson City is 17.6 minutes long, compared to the 26.6-minute average commute nationwide. Taking into account the cost of gas, as well as public transit and car maintenance, the EPI estimates that a single person in Johnson City spends $9,825 a year on transportation, about the same as the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Johnson City, Tennessee

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are closely in line with the national average in Johnson City but well below what they are across Tennessee as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $4,296 per year, compared to an average of $4,925 across Tennessee and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Johnson City, Tennessee

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Johnson City, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $10,285, about $600 less than the comparable average of $10,907 across all of Tennessee. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Johnson City, Tennessee

Food is another every day expense that has a significant impact on overall cost of living. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the cost of food varies from city to city and town to town.

In Johnson City, a single adult spends an average of $3,217 on food annually, and a family of four spends $9,292 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Tennessee and the U.S., respectively, are $3,214 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $9,282 and $9,354 for a family of four. These estimates are calculated for a nutritionally adequate diet of food purchased at a grocery store for at-home preparation.

Taxes in Johnson City, Tennessee

Few expenses vary as much from city to city and town to town as taxes. Accounting for state and federal income taxes, as well as Social Security contributions and Medicare payroll taxes, the average adult working in Johnson City, Tennessee pays $4,454 annually — closely in line with the statewide average of $4,925.

It is important to note that these calculations do not include other common taxes such as property, sales, and excise taxes. Accounting for these taxes, while excluding taxes levied at the federal level, Johnson City residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Tennessee total $2,108 per year, compared to the $3,151 average across all states.

Methodology

To estimate the cost of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, taxes, and other necessities, 24/7 Wall St. assigned county-level Economic Policy Institute data to cities, towns, villages and Census-designated places based on boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. For places that span multiple counties, data was aggregated based on the percentage of boundary overlap.

Cost of Living in Johnson City, Tennessee