Best PlacesCumberland County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cumberland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cumberland County ranks 1,471st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cumberland County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Cumberland County
The parts of Cumberland County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Fairfield Glade
More adults hold degrees, health care is easier to reach, and more residents vote.
Lake Tansi
Prices have run up more and local pay stretches less far.
Crossville
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Scores across Cumberland County run from about the 14th to the 78th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Cumberland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cumberland County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
Where Cumberland County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 19% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cumberland County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cumberland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,983, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Cumberland County's effective rate of 0.29%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cumberland County
Cumberland County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cumberland County.
Who works in Cumberland County, and how
Work in Cumberland County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Cumberland County
Cumberland County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Cumberland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cumberland County growing, and who is moving in?
Cumberland County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Knoxville, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cumberland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cumberland County, month by month
Cumberland County sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Cumberland County
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cumberland County
Schools across Cumberland County average a C, better than 41% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Frank P. Brown ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- South Cumberland ElementaryB · 49% proficient
- Pine View ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Stone Memorial High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Cumberland County High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- The Phoenix SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cumberland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cumberland County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Cumberland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cumberland County suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 68%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 60% of counties, health care access beats 59%, and it is quieter than 59%.
Common questions about living in Cumberland County
Is Cumberland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cumberland County ranks 1,471st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, state finances, and fast internet, and lowest on walkability and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cumberland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $247,561. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $62,983 median income, cost of living beats 30% of counties.
Is Cumberland County safe?
Yes, Cumberland County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cumberland County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 29. That works out to about 100 pleasant days a year, more than 60% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Cumberland County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fairfield Glade, Lake Tansi, and Crossville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Cumberland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cumberland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cumberland County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Cumberland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cumberland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cumberland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cumberland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cumberland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cumberland County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.