Best PlacesHouston County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Houston 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.
Houston County ranks 2,272nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Houston 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.
Houston County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Houston County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of counties
Where Houston County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute37.6 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Houston County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Houston County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,930, 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 Houston County's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 Houston County
Houston County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Houston County.
Who works in Houston County, and how
Work in Houston County centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Houston County
Houston County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Houston County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Houston County growing, and who is moving in?
Houston County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Clarksville, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Houston County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Houston County, month by month
Houston County sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Houston County
Nashville International sits about 58 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.6 million passengers in 2025, with 158 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Houston County
Schools across Houston County average a C−, better than 25% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Tennessee Ridge ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Erin ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Houston Co Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Houston Co High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Houston County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Houston 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 Houston County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Houston County
Is Houston County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Houston County ranks 2,272nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, state finances, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Houston County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,416. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $64,930 median income, cost of living beats 46% of counties.
Is Houston County safe?
Yes, Houston County is safer than 79% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $356 per resident a year.
Compare Houston County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Houston County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Houston 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.
Houston County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Houston County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Houston County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Houston County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Houston County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Houston 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.