Best PlacesMacon County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Macon 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.
Macon County ranks 2,195th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Macon 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.
Macon County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Macon County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- QuietBetter than 84% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
Where Macon County ranks low
- Short commute34.7 minutes each way, better than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Macon County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Macon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,182, 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 Macon 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 Macon County
Macon 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 Macon County.
Who works in Macon County, and how
Work in Macon County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, 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 Macon County
Macon County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Macon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Macon County growing, and who is moving in?
Macon County has grown about 19% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Nashville, TN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Macon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Macon County, month by month
Macon County sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Macon County
Nashville International sits about 46 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 Macon County
Schools across Macon County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lafayette Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Hermitage Springs Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Central ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Macon County Junior High SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Macon County High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Red Boiling Springs SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Macon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Macon 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 Macon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Macon County suits
Families
Schools land around the 46th percentile and crime safety beats 59%.
Common questions about living in Macon County
Is Macon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Macon County ranks 2,195th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on long commutes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Macon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,349. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,182 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Macon County safe?
Yes, Macon County is safer than 59% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Macon County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 27. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of counties.
Is Macon County good for families?
Schools beat 46% of counties, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Compare Macon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Macon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Macon 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.
Macon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Macon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Macon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Macon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Macon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Macon 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.