What big cities are near Chattanooga, TN?

No other major metro in our coverage sits within 100 miles of Chattanooga; the nearest is Knoxville.

Is it worth driving out of Chattanooga to save sales tax?

Only on large purchases, and only where the seller is origin-sourced. Most states tax by delivery address, so a car or appliance delivered to Chattanooga is taxed at the 9.25% local rate regardless of where you bought it.

Cities near Chattanooga, TN

Quick answer

The nearest major metro to Chattanooga is Knoxville, TN, 101 miles northeast — roughly 1 hr 57 min by road. Its combined sales tax rate is 9.25% against 9.25% in Chattanooga.

Within 25 mi

0covered metros

Within 50 mi

0covered metros

Within 100 mi

0covered metros

Within 250 mi

5covered metros

Distance to nearby metros

Great-circle distance from the Chattanooga centroid (35.045, -85.308).

Metros near Chattanooga, TN with straight-line distance, estimated drive time and combined sales tax rate
Metro	Straight line	Est. drive	Direction	Combined rate
Knoxville, TN	100.5 mi	1 hr 57 min	northeast	9.25%
Atlanta, GA	105.9 mi	2 hr 3 min	southeast	8.9%
Nashville, TN	113.3 mi	2 hr 12 min	northwest	9.25%
Birmingham, AL	135.6 mi	2 hr 37 min	southwest	10%
Louisville, KY	222.4 mi	4 hr 18 min	north	6%

Source: Place centroids: USGS/Census public-domain coordinates · rates as published for 2026

How these distances are calculated

Straight-line figures are great-circle distances between incorporated-place centroids using the haversine formula on a 3,958.76-mile mean-radius sphere — exact to within a few metres for this purpose. Drive time is an estimate: road distance is modelled at 1.2× the straight line (the standard North American circuity factor) at 62 mph for trips over 60 miles and 35 mph below that. It is not a routed itinerary and ignores traffic, terrain and tolls.

Chattanooga sales tax breakdown Distance and radius calculator