Cost of Living in Memphis, TN (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated August 2026. Rent figures reflect Apartment List Rent Estimates as of July 2026.

Apartment List's July 2026 Rent Index puts Memphis's median rent at $1,070 across all apartment sizes, well below the national median. What makes Memphis distinct isn't just the low number, though; its one-bedroom and two-bedroom medians sit unusually close together, only about $119 apart, so a larger unit stays within reach of many of the same budgets that a one-bedroom fits. Add a combined utility bill and groceries, and a solo renter is planning around $1,554 a month, before internet and the car most trips here will call for.

That $1,070 is rent alone, and it's tracking the broader market: Apartment List's July 2026 data has both the Memphis and national medians down close to 1% year over year, so this reads as a national trend rather than a Memphis-specific one. It's still worth comparing current apartments for the size and location you want. This guide walks through what the typical apartment costs, what income lines up with it, and the utilities, transit, and grocery costs that turn a rent figure into a real monthly budget.

Cost of Living at a Glance

What Is the Median Rent in Memphis in 2026?

Apartment List Rent Index data for July 2026 show a Memphis city median of $1,070 across all apartment sizes, with a one-bedroom at $894 and a two-bedroom at $1,013. One thing to note: those one- and two-bedroom medians are only about $119 apart, a narrower spread than in most large cities, which reflects a compressed rent ladder rather than the price of adding a room to any given unit. The city median sits slightly below the Memphis metro median of $1,104, so a citywide search and a metrowide search will start from marginally different midpoints.

The median is the market midpoint: half of apartments cost less and half cost more. Apartment List's methodology frames its estimate as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only the apartments advertised right now. The specific building, apartment, and location you choose can rent above or below these figures.

The city median fell about 1% from July 2025 and was essentially flat month over month, according to Apartment List's July 2026 data. That steadiness is a citywide midpoint, though. It doesn't promise that any one property followed the trend or is offering a discount, so compare current apartments for the size and location you want. What stands out most about Memphis is the absolute level: a sub-$900 median one-bedroom is rare among large U.S. cities.

How Does Memphis Rent Compare With Other Mid-South Metros?

Memphis's $1,070 all-sizes median, per Apartment List's July 2026 estimates, anchors the comparison below. The table sets it against selected Mid-South and peer metros and the national median. It is not a ranking of every regional rental market.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of July 2026.

Memphis sits at the low end of a fairly tight regional band. Little Rock is within $10, and most nearby metros run within about $130. The clear step-up is Nashville, roughly $300 more per month and right at Apartment List's national median of $1,388; at about 23% below that national median, Memphis is one of the more affordable major rental markets in the country. These are rent medians, not total-cost comparisons. Before you treat a lower-cost metro as savings, compare prices for the same unit size and factor in what you'll spend getting around each city.

What Income Corresponds to Memphis Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Here's a quick way to test a rent: find the income at which it equals 30% of gross pay, meaning your pay before taxes. Multiply the monthly rent by 12, then divide by 0.30.

Quick math: What annual income corresponds to Memphis's $894 median one-bedroom rent?

$894 x 12 / 0.30 = about $35,760 in annual gross income

Using Apartment List's July 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $894, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $35,760 in annual gross income. The $1,013 median two-bedroom corresponds to about $40,520. Read these as planning figures that leave out utilities, not salary requirements or property screening rules. To test a specific listing, swap in its advertised rent. To test your own income against a personal rent range, try the Apartment List Rent Calculator.

Treat 30% as a planning benchmark rather than a verdict on what you can afford. It reflects the 30% of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, where HUD counts rent and utilities together. Its value is showing how much room a given rent leaves for everything else you pay.

Many renter households spend more than that. Apartment List's analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households were cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of income on housing, and 26.1% were severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50%. Those are national figures, not Memphis-specific, but they show why 30% works as a starting point rather than a description of what renters usually spend.

One caution on the math: this calculation uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income and will produce a different estimate.

How Do You Set a Rent Ceiling for a Specific Listing?

The quick math above uses rent alone. HUD counts rent and utilities together, and it treats housing costs above 30% of income as a cost burden. HUD's benchmark is not itself a universal private-landlord screening rule; it's a planning guideline. To turn 30% of gross monthly income into a rent target, subtract the utilities you expect to pay separately.

Run it on your gross monthly income, the figure before taxes. Take 30% of it, then subtract your estimated utilities. What's left is your rent target.

At $3,500 in gross monthly income, 30% is $1,050. After an MLGW bill of about $220, the rent target is about $830, which is $64 below the $894 median one-bedroom. That means a median-priced one-bedroom would run slightly over this budget; the target fits a below-median unit more comfortably than the exact median.

At $2,800 in gross monthly income, 30% is $840 before utilities, roughly $54 below the median one-bedroom.

A gap between your rent target and the median just shows what would need to change: the listing price, the housing arrangement, or your share of income going to housing. In Memphis, the low rent level means many renters clear the median one-bedroom on a modest income, so the more useful move is often comparing specific units rather than stretching the budget.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Memphis?

Memphis's rent median can't capture costs that vary by building, lease, and commute. Verify those before you treat the advertised rent as your monthly housing cost.

Utilities (MLGW Combined Bill)

Memphis Light, Gas and Water, or MLGW, is the municipal utility that bills electricity, natural gas, and water/sewer together on a single statement, which is unusual among large U.S. cities. A representative MLGW residential bill for a customer using about 1,000 kWh of electricity plus typical gas and water runs roughly in the low-to-mid $200s per month combined, and it swings seasonally with heating and cooling, according to MLGW residential rate materials (2026). Your bill varies with usage and season. The single most useful step is to ask a property what recent MLGW bills looked like for a similar unit. Many Memphis apartments heat with natural gas, so ask whether heat is gas or electric, since that shifts the winter portion of the MLGW bill.

Getting Around: Budget for a Car First

Memphis is a car-dependent, spread-out city, and for most renters getting around means a car: payment, insurance, fuel, parking, and maintenance. Those costs are personal to you, so this guide doesn't publish a single Memphis car figure, but for the typical renter it's the largest cost after rent, larger than any utility. Budget for it first when you price a move here.

Transit is the lower-cost option where it works, and right now it's free. The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is running a Zero Fare Pilot Program: as of August 2026, all bus, trolley, MATAplus, and Ready! On-Demand rides are free, and weekly and monthly passes aren't currently sold, according to MATA's fares page. It's still a pilot rather than a permanent fare structure, so check that page for the current status before you count on it lasting. Either way, confirm that a route and schedule fit your commute, since MATA's coverage is limited and reliability has been an ongoing concern.

Groceries

The USDA publishes a monthly food-at-home cost that works as a national planning benchmark. For one adult, the Moderate-Cost Food Plan runs about $440 a month, according to the USDA Cost of Food reports (June 2026). These are national estimates for groceries you cook at home, not Memphis-specific prices. If you already track what you spend, use your own number instead.

A Note on State Income Tax

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which affects your take-home pay but not your rent. Factor the higher take-home into the after-tax income you bring to any budget, and keep it separate from the gross-income math used for the 30% rent benchmark above.

How Do Solo and Shared Memphis Budgets Compare?

These estimates compare the recurring costs of renting a median one-bedroom alone against each renter's share of a median two-bedroom. Treat them as a floor to build on, since they leave out plenty of a real household budget.

Sharing lowers the rent line by about $387 per person, from the $894 one-bedroom median to $507 for half of the two-bedroom median. Over a year, that is roughly $4,650 per person in rent savings. Because sharing lowers the rent line by about $387, the bedroom spread is smaller than in many higher-cost markets, so the trade-off between living alone and splitting a two-bedroom is milder here than in a city where that gap runs into the hundreds more. Most of what you save by taking a roommate comes from splitting the rent, with only a little from dividing the smaller bills. Whether that tradeoff is worth it is your call.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

When you budget for application or move-in fees, remember those are the property's charges, set by each property rather than by Apartment List. Use the rent on the listing, not the Memphis city median, as your working number. Two apartments with the same advertised rent can still leave you with different monthly bills, especially where the MLGW split varies. Here's how to pressure-test a specific listing:

1. Compare the listing's advertised rent with the matching Memphis median.

2. Run the rent-only 30% calculation using the listing rent or your expected share.

3. Calculate a rent target using gross income and known utilities.

4. Confirm required property charges, then add transportation and household costs.

5. Compare the resulting monthly cost with your budget before applying.

Memphis data gets the comparison started. The monthly total for the specific listing in front of you is what tells you whether to apply.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Memphis?

Even in an affordable market, where you look shifts the median. A few starting points:

• Compare the cheapest neighborhoods in Memphis and safest neighborhoods in Memphis to see how medians move across the city.

• Ask about gas-versus-electric heat and the recent MLGW bill on any unit, since a lower rent with a high winter gas bill can erase the savings.

• Run the numbers on any listing with the Apartment List Rent Calculator and Rate My Rent, which grades a unit's rent against similar nearby apartments.

Compare Memphis With Your Current City

Compare Memphis with your current city using the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator. To use it:

1. Enter your current city, Memphis, your after-tax household income, and a bedroom preference.

2. Compare the result with your Memphis estimate from this guide.

3. Apply your chosen rent target manually while reviewing Memphis listings.

The honest summary for a Memphis move is this: at $1,070 across all sizes and $894 for a one-bedroom (Apartment List, July 2026), rent here runs about 23% below the national median, and with the one- and two-bedroom medians only about $119 apart, a larger unit stays in reach for many of the budgets a one-bedroom fits. Beyond rent, the two costs that shape most Memphis budgets are a car, since this is a spread-out, car-first city, and the MLGW bill, which puts electricity, gas, and water on one statement so a single bill covers what three cover in most cities. MATA's zero-fare pilot made buses free for much of 2026, a genuine bonus for anyone a route serves, but it was a repeatedly extended pilot rather than a permanent change, so check the current fare rather than counting on free rides. The affordability is real; just price the car and the seasonal swing in that MLGW bill before you treat the low rent as the whole story.

Once you set a rent target, browse Memphis apartments and check it against real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Apartment List Rent Index data supplies the rent benchmarks used throughout this guide. The monthly estimates combine those rents with published utility, transit, and grocery figures. Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

Frequently Asked Questions About Memphis Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Memphis?

Rent reports usually cite the median rather than the average, because the median better represents a typical apartment. As of July 2026, the median rent in Memphis is $1,070 across all sizes, $894 for a one-bedroom, and $1,013 for a two-bedroom, according to the Apartment List Rent Index.

How Does Memphis Rent Compare With Other Tennessee Cities?

Memphis rent runs well below the rest of the state's largest market: its $1,070 all-sizes median sits about $298 a month under Nashville's $1,368 in Apartment List's July 2026 estimates, making Memphis one of the more affordable major markets in Tennessee.

Is Memphis Expensive?

No. At an all-sizes median of $1,070 in July 2026, Memphis runs about 23% below Apartment List's national median of $1,388. Keep in mind the MLGW bill bundles electricity, gas, and water, so ask about recent usage before you treat the low rent as the whole cost.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. The 30% benchmark is HUD's cost-burden threshold, not a rule any landlord enforces. Apartment List's analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data found 51.8% of U.S. renter households were cost-burdened and 26.1% severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50% of income on housing. Those are national figures.

How Do Solo and Shared Memphis Budgets Compare?

Half of the $1,013 median two-bedroom is about $507 per person, roughly $387 less than the $894 median one-bedroom, according to Apartment List's July 2026 medians. Because that gap is about $387, the spread between living alone and splitting a two-bedroom is smaller here than in many higher-cost markets.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Memphis?

There's no single required salary. Apartment List's July 2026 median one-bedroom of $894 works out to about $35,760 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark, and the $1,013 two-bedroom median to about $40,520. Treat these as planning figures, not screening requirements.