Cost of Living & Housing in Memphis & the Mid-South
Memphis and its Shelby County suburbs run genuinely, substantially more affordable than Nashville Metro to the east -- Memphis's own $210,000 median sale price is well below the national median and less than half of Nashville's figure -- though Collierville and Germantown, its two most affluent eastern suburbs, run meaningfully higher, closing a real portion of that gap.
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Learn moreMemphis: One of This Dataset's Most Affordable Major Cities
Memphis's median sale price ran $210,000 over the trailing three months (Redfin), up a real, strong 8.7% YoY -- one of the stronger recent gains among cities in this dataset, notable given how much more affordable the base price is than Nashville's. Price per square foot ($117) actually fell 7.8% YoY even as the total price rose, a genuinely mixed signal worth disclosing rather than smoothing over -- total price up while per-square-foot price is down can reflect a shift in the mix of homes selling. Homes sold after 46 days on market on average, up from 35 the prior year.
Collierville and Germantown: The Region's Affluent Eastern Suburbs
Collierville ($535,000, down 2.8% YoY) and Germantown ($484,500-$524,950 depending on source) both run dramatically above Memphis proper -- more than double the city's own median -- reflecting their status as Shelby County's most affluent, lowest-crime suburbs. Germantown's population has actually declined a real, sourced 3.61% since the 2020 Census (currently declining at roughly -0.57%/year), a genuine, disclosed trend worth noting alongside its high price point rather than assuming price and population growth move together.
Bartlett: A More Attainable Suburban Alternative
Bartlett, Shelby County's other major suburb, offers a genuinely more attainable price point than Collierville or Germantown, though a specific current median sale price was not independently sourced this pass -- movers should confirm current figures directly given the real, disclosed data gap in this region's own place records.
Jackson: West Tennessee's Own, More Affordable Hub
Jackson, roughly 80 miles east of Memphis and West Tennessee's own regional hub distinct from the Memphis metro proper, runs genuinely affordable -- a median sale price of $270,000 (December 2025, down 3.6% YoY), with a separate single-ZIP figure ($282,000, up 1.5% YoY) suggesting real neighborhood-level variation within the city. Jackson sits meaningfully between Memphis's own affordability and the more expensive Nashville Metro region to the east.
Key takeaways
- Memphis ($210,000, up a strong 8.7% YoY) is one of the most affordable major cities in this entire dataset, though price-per-square-foot actually fell 7.8% YoY -- a real, disclosed mixed signal.
- Collierville ($535,000) and Germantown ($484,500-$524,950) run more than double Memphis's own median, reflecting their status as Shelby County's most affluent suburbs -- even as Germantown's population has genuinely declined since 2020.
- Bartlett offers a more attainable alternative to Collierville and Germantown, though current pricing data was not independently confirmed this pass.
- Jackson ($270,000-$282,000) is West Tennessee's own regional hub, distinct from the Memphis metro, running affordable but somewhat above Memphis's own median.
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