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

Updated November 2026. Rent figures reflect October 2026 estimates from Apartment List's November report.

Apartment List's November 2026 Rent Index puts Memphis's median rent at $1,063 across all apartment sizes, about 23% below the $1,384 national median and the third-lowest among the 50 largest U.S. cities. The median one-bedroom is $888, and the two-bedroom median sits only $118 above it.

Memphis's median fell 0.41% over the 12 months through October 2026, the 18th straight month below its year-earlier level, while the national median was essentially flat. The budget question here is what sits beside the rent: the MLGW statement bundles electricity, gas, and water, and only the electricity line is modeled in this guide.

Cost of Living at a Glance

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering, add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with the charges on the listing and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Memphis in 2026?

The Apartment List November 2026 Rent Index shows a Memphis city median of $1,063 across all apartment sizes, with a one-bedroom at $888 and a two-bedroom at $1,006. The $118 step between them is about 13.3%, smaller than the roughly 19.5% benchmark across the 50 largest U.S. cities from Apartment List's July 2026 release, and it is a gap between two medians rather than what any building charges for the extra room. The city median sits $38, about 3.5%, below the Memphis metro median of $1,101, and the metro figure includes the city itself.

Apartment List reports the median, the market midpoint, rather than an average that a few expensive listings can pull upward. Apartment List's methodology frames the estimate as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only the apartments advertised right now, so a specific unit can rent above or below these figures.

The city median fell 0.41% over the 12 months through October 2026 and slipped 0.12% in October alone, the 18th consecutive month below its year-earlier level, with the annual decline narrowing in each of the past two months. That is a citywide midpoint; it does not promise that any one property followed the trend or is offering a discount. Memphis is one of four of the 50 largest U.S. cities with a one-bedroom median under $900 in this release.

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

Memphis's $1,063 all-sizes median is the lowest of the six cities compared here in Apartment List's November 2026 report. The table is a selection, not a ranking of every regional rental market.

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates. City rows throughout.

Little Rock is within $15, the next three cities run $89 to $130 more, and Nashville is the clear step up at $298 more, close to the $1,384 national median. These are rent medians, not total-cost comparisons, so compare the same unit size and what you would spend getting around each city.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Memphis?

Using the $888 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's November 2026 report, a rent-only budget of 30% of gross income needs about $35,520 a year. The $1,006 median two-bedroom lines up with about $40,240, and a $503 equal share of that two-bedroom with about $20,120. To test a listing, swap in its advertised rent, or run your own numbers in the Apartment List Rent Calculator.

These figures use gross income, your pay before taxes, and cover rent alone. The 30% share is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) affordability measure, which counts rent and utilities together where these figures count rent only. This calculation is a budgeting benchmark. Confirm the property's income and screening requirements separately. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income, so it will produce a different estimate.

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

The income figures above use rent alone. To turn 30% of gross monthly income into a rent target, subtract the utilities you expect to pay separately; what is left is the room inside that housing allowance for base rent.

At $3,500 in gross monthly income, 30% is $1,050. After the $128 electricity scenario, the rent target is about $922, which is $34 above the $888 median one-bedroom before gas and water; a unit that bills those separately would use up that room quickly. At $2,800, 30% is $840 before utilities, roughly $48 below the median one-bedroom.

A gap between your target and a listing shows what would have to change: the price, the housing arrangement, or the share of income you put toward housing. In Memphis, comparing specific units and their MLGW bills usually tells you more than stretching the budget, and the final total belongs against take-home pay, not the gross figure.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Memphis?

Memphis's rent median cannot 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 (MLGW) bills electricity, natural gas, and water and sewer together on one statement. On its standard residential electric rate, 1,000 kWh in an October 2026 billing month comes to about $128 before tax, including the TVA fuel cost adjustment for October. That is a fixed-usage scenario, not a typical bill, and energy rates run higher in the summer and winter billing months. Tariff components are in the appendix.

Gas and water are separate lines on the same statement that this guide does not model. Ask the property for the gas and water lines from a recent MLGW statement on a similar unit, and whether the heat is gas or electric, since that decides which line carries the winter cost.

How Do You Get Around Memphis?

Transit is the lower-cost option where a route fits, and right now it is free. The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is running a Zero Fare pilot: in early November 2026, bus, trolley, MATAplus, and Ready! On-Demand rides cost $0, and 7-day and 31-day passes are not sold, according to MATA's fares page. The regular adult base fare is $1.00 when fares apply. It is a pilot rather than a permanent fare structure, so check that page before you count on it lasting.

Check the route, schedule, and travel time from the specific address to your workplace before you decide. If no route fits your hours, a car replaces the transit line: payment, insurance, fuel, parking, and maintenance, which this guide does not price.

Groceries

For one adult, the USDA Moderate-Cost Food Plan runs about $441 a month in the September 2026 report. It is a national food-at-home planning benchmark, not Memphis grocery spending, so use your own number if you already track what you spend. The derivation is in the appendix.

A Note on State Income Tax

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which affects your take-home pay but not your rent. Count that when you compare a listing's monthly total with your pay; the 30% benchmark above stays on gross income.

Other expenses to add

The solo and shared partial budgets below cover rent, electricity, and groceries. These lines sit outside them, so add the ones that apply to you.

How Do Solo and Shared Memphis Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates. Each column is an illustrative partial budget, not typical spending or a minimum: rent, the modeled electricity scenario, and the one-adult grocery benchmark. The shared column splits one electricity bill equally as an illustrative assumption; a two-bedroom's usage can differ from a one-bedroom's. Both columns exclude gas and water, transit or a car, internet, insurance, and other household costs.

Sharing lowers the rent line by $385 per person, from the $888 one-bedroom median to $503 for half of the two-bedroom median, or $4,620 a year, and most of the saving comes from the rent line. The $503 share lines up with about $20,120 in gross income at the rent-only benchmark, against $35,520 for the one-bedroom.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

Apartment List is free for renters to use. Confirm any application, administrative, or move-in fees directly with the property. Use the rent on the listing, not the city median, as your working number, since two apartments with the same advertised rent can leave you with different MLGW bills. Run three checks:

1. Recurring total: the listing's rent plus required monthly charges.

2. Move-in total, separately: deposit, application fee, and any admin fee.

3. Unresolved property-specific charges: how the MLGW bill is split or included, whether heat is gas or electric, and the gas and water lines from a recent statement for a similar unit.

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 a low-rent 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

If you are moving from elsewhere, the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax household income and a bedroom preference, so its result will not match the gross-income figures above. Use it for the city-to-city comparison, then hold your rent target against Memphis listings.

Is Memphis's Low Rent Enough to Carry a Car and the MLGW Bill?

At $1,063 across all sizes and $888 for a one-bedroom (Apartment List, November 2026 report), rent is the predictable part of a Memphis budget. The tradeoff is the two lines beside it: the MLGW statement, where only the $128 electricity scenario is modeled here and the gas and water lines are unknown until you see a bill, and transportation, which stays at $0 in fares only while the Zero Fare pilot lasts and only if a route fits your address.

If a MATA route fits, the $1,457 illustrative partial budget plus the unit's gas and water lines is a fair starting point. If you will drive, price the car before the apartment, since no citywide figure covers it. Once you set a rent target, browse Memphis apartments and check it against real listings and their recent MLGW bills.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Apartment List rent figures throughout this guide come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, November 2026 release, with data as of October 2026. The monthly estimates combine those rents with published utility, transit, and grocery figures.

Rent data: levels are the price_overall, price_1br, and price_2br fields for the City row, and changes are the published rent_change_yoy and rent_change_mom fields. The 18-month run counts consecutive negative values in the published year-over-year series. Rankings use the 50 most populous City rows in the same release.

Income figures: monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30 (rent x 12 / 0.30), rounded to the nearest $10; the per-renter share is half the two-bedroom median. These are calculations on the cited Apartment List medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data. The rent ceiling examples take 30% of gross monthly income and subtract the modeled electricity scenario.

Modeled electricity and groceries: 1,000 kWh in an October (transition-rate) billing month on Schedule RS, a $16.64 service charge less the $1.54 hydro allocation credit, energy at 9.494 cents per kWh on the first 500 kWh ($47.47) and 9.377 cents above ($46.89), plus the TVA fuel cost adjustment of 1.876 cents per kWh for meters read on or after October 2, 2026 ($18.76); total $128.22, taxes excluded. The one-adult grocery figure averages the USDA Moderate-Cost Food Plan costs for females and males aged 20 to 50 in the September 2026 report ($336.40 and $398.40) and multiplies by 1.20 for a one-person household: $440.88, about $441. The solo partial budget is rent plus that bill plus the grocery benchmark.

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 October 2026, the median rent in Memphis is $1,063 across all sizes, $888 for a one-bedroom, and $1,006 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 $1,063 all-sizes median sits about $298 a month under Nashville's $1,361 in Apartment List's November 2026 Rent Index. It is also below Knoxville ($1,096) and Chattanooga ($1,205) in the same release.

Is Memphis Expensive?

On rent, no: the $1,063 all-sizes median sits about 23% below Apartment List's $1,384 national median as of October 2026, and the one-bedroom median is $888. Whether the whole budget stays low depends on the MLGW statement, which bundles electricity, gas, and water, and on whether you need a car, so price those before you treat the low rent as the whole cost.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is HUD's cost-burden threshold and a budgeting benchmark; each property sets its own income and screening requirements. Apartment List's analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data found 51.8% of U.S. renter households cost-burdened and 26.1% severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of income on housing. Those are national figures.

How Do Solo and Shared Memphis Budgets Compare?

Half of the $1,006 median two-bedroom is about $503 per person, roughly $385 less than the $888 median one-bedroom, according to Apartment List's medians for October 2026. That is the rent line only; the guide's illustrative partial budgets come to about $1,457 solo and $1,008 per renter shared, with the equal split of one electric bill an illustrative assumption.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Memphis?

Using the $888 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's November 2026 report, a rent-only budget of 30% of gross income needs about $35,520 a year, and the $1,006 two-bedroom about $40,240. These are budgeting estimates; each property sets its own income and screening requirements.