Best PlacesHenderson County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Henderson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Henderson County ranks 2,204th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Henderson 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.
Henderson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Henderson County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 79% of counties
Where Henderson County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Henderson County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Henderson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,571, 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 Henderson County's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Henderson County
Henderson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Henderson County.
Who works in Henderson County, and how
Work in Henderson County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Henderson County
Henderson County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 66% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Henderson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Henderson County growing, and who is moving in?
Henderson County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Jackson, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Henderson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Henderson County, month by month
Henderson County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Henderson County
The nearest airport, McKellar-Sipes Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Henderson County
Schools across Henderson County average a B, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Parsons ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Scotts Hill ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- South Side ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lexington Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Decatur County Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- South Gibson County High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Milan High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Lexington High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Henderson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Henderson 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 Henderson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Henderson County suits
Common questions about living in Henderson County
Is Henderson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Henderson County ranks 2,204th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Henderson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,272. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $55,571 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Henderson County safe?
Henderson County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $495 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Henderson County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 32. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of counties.
Is Henderson County good for families?
Schools beat 74% of counties, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Compare Henderson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Henderson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Henderson 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.
Henderson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Henderson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Henderson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Henderson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Henderson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Henderson 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.