2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Oak Ridge, TN vs Waynesville, NC

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Waynesville or is it cheaper to live in Oak Ridge?
- Waynesville is 13.1% more expensive than Oak Ridge.

Which city has more affordable housing, Waynesville or Oak Ridge?
- Waynesville housing costs are 47.4% more expensive than Oak Ridge housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Oak Ridge or is Health Care more affordable in Waynesville.
- Health related expenses are 24.3% more in Waynesville.
 Oak Ridge, TNWaynesville, NCUnited States
 Overall  Unlock97.3100
 Food & Groceries95.6  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock120.8100
 Housing66.1  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$319,100$338,100
 Utilities96  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock87.7100
 Miscellaneous104.4  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Oak Ridge    8 Reviews

Overall it's on the positive side. It's pretty boring but it can feel like a real home at times. It could stand to be a hair closer to Western Knoxville.. Melton lake  More

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Over 5 years ago

Oak Ridge is located in beautiful East TN, has excellent public schools, is very safe for families, and is only 15-30 min away from Knoxville.  More

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Marginal, at best. Lack of social and business skills to perform anything but menial tasks. No clue about customer service, business etiquette or basic business  More

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Reviews for Waynesville    4 Reviews

The post below was written a little less than 10 years ago and only a few months prior to my move to Waynesville. Anyone who moves to any city should do research before  More

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Over 17 years ago

Waynesville is a small town trying to keep up with the big dogs across the mountains. It puts on shows and have festivals downtown but it is not good enough. I have  More

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For those of us who weren't reared there, Waynesville, NC lends itself best to being a small-town retirement community. The "Gateway to the Smokies" is a blissfully  More

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