Cost of Living in Kingsport
Kingsport's cost of living centers on housing that runs genuinely more affordable than neighboring Johnson City across the sources reviewed -- an average house price around $295,000 (up a sharp 16.6% YoY) and a March 2026 median sale price of $315,000 -- alongside Tennessee's no-income-tax structure offset by a real, high combined sales tax.
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Learn moreHousing runs more affordable than Johnson City, though appreciating fast
Redfin cited an average (not median) house price of roughly $295,000 for the most recent month at time of retrieval, up a sharp 16.6% YoY. A separate, earlier-dated figure cited a March 2026 median sale price of $315,000, up 6.1% YoY. Both figures sit below Johnson City's comparable Redfin figures ($325K-$350K range), supporting Kingsport's relative affordability within the Tri-Cities -- though the 16.6% YoY jump is itself a real, fast pace of appreciation worth factoring into a moving timeline.
Rent runs genuinely lower than Johnson City, with a real cross-source disagreement on the exact figure
One tracker (based on 183 active listings as of August 9, 2026) cites an average rent of $1,265/month; a separate source instead cites a flat $1,000 average and $1,100 median -- a real, disclosed gap. By unit size, one tracker cites $1,099 for a 1BR, $1,238 for a 2BR, and $1,408 for a 3BR. As of August 2026, rent is cited as down 1.04% month-over-month but up 6.45% year-over-year.
No state income tax, offset by a real, high combined sales tax
Tennessee levies no tax on wages or salaries at all (see the state record for the full history). Kingsport's combined sales tax is cited at 9.5% per Avalara's specific breakdown (7.00% state + 2.25% county + 0.25% city), though a separate figure places Kingsport among the small group of Tennessee cities at the state's 9.75% maximum -- both disclosed rather than picking one figure as final.
Median household income runs below Johnson City's and the national figure
Kingsport's median household income is cited at $52,490 -- lower than Johnson City's $57,254 -- with a poverty rate of 20.74% against a roughly 12.5% national average cited alongside it. Unlike Johnson City, Kingsport lacks a large full-time university student population to help statistically explain part of this gap -- this figure more directly reflects the city's working-age income distribution.
Key takeaways
- Average house price ran roughly $295,000 (up 16.6% YoY); a March 2026 median sale price was cited at $315,000 (up 6.1% YoY) -- both below Johnson City's comparable figures, supporting Kingsport's relative affordability.
- Average rent is cited between $1,000-$1,265/month across sources (a real, disclosed gap), with 1BR at $1,099, 2BR at $1,238, and 3BR at $1,408 -- genuinely lower than Johnson City's rent figures.
- Tennessee's no state income tax is offset by a combined sales tax cited at 9.5% (Avalara's specific breakdown) to as high as 9.75% (the state maximum) depending on source.
- Median household income ($52,490) runs below both Johnson City's and the national figure, and the poverty rate (20.74%) runs well above a cited national average -- without a large university population to help explain the gap statistically.
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