Nolan Scott Team

A family of four needs $408K to live comfortably in San Francisco. In Atlanta, $232K. In Nashville, $213K. Same country, $195K gap.

Families in Western cities need roughly $61K more per year than families in Southern cities to reach that same standard.

Even San Antonio, the most affordable city analyzed, still requires $193K for a family of four.

Atlanta at $232K and Nashville at $213K are not cheap. But a household earning $250K in either city is covering needs, living well, and saving aggressively. That same household in San Francisco is not even clearing the basics. This is why business acquisition activity in Tennessee and Georgia keeps accelerating. When families have margin, some of them use it to buy a business instead of just a bigger house.

SmartAsset calculated these numbers using the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which totals the actual cost of necessities in each city including housing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare, and taxes. That total represents 50% of the budget under the 50/30/20 rule. The remaining 30% goes to discretionary spending and 20% to savings. So if a city's basic necessities cost $204K for a family of four, the comfortable income threshold is $408K.

The U.S. exported $2.2 trillion in goods last year, ranking second globally and growing 6% year over year. America makes a lot more than most people give it credit for.

The U.S. is the world's largest importer at $3.5 trillion and the second largest exporter at $2.2 trillion, sitting at the center of global trade.

U.S. exports grew 6% in 2025, outpacing China's 5% export growth rate over the same period.

The U.S. is one of only three countries appearing in the top three for both imports and exports, alongside China and Germany.

The narrative that America does not make anything anymore has never been true and the data keeps proving it. $2.2 trillion in exports means American manufacturers, agricultural producers, and industrial companies are competing and winning on a global stage. That production does not happen in a vacuum. It flows through supply chains that include thousands of small and mid-sized businesses handling fabrication, logistics, packaging, distribution, and maintenance. In Georgia and Tennessee, companies plugged into these supply chains are seeing sustained demand that translates directly into stable revenue, strong margins, and higher business valuations. For business buyers evaluating acquisitions in Atlanta and Chattanooga, companies supporting manufacturing and export supply chains carry a durability that pure consumer businesses often lack. Their revenue is anchored to structural economic activity, not discretionary spending. And for business owners in these sectors who are considering an exit, the current environment of growing exports and rising industrial demand means your company is likely worth more today than you think.

America is still building, still making, and still exporting. The businesses supporting that activity are some of the best acquisitions on the market.