Best PlacesNashville, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Nashville metro, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Photo by Kaldari, via commons
Nashville ranks 140th of 387 U.S. metro areas on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $95,906, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are the weather, long commutes, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in the Nashville metro
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 Nashville
The towns and districts of the Nashville metro, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the metro.
Nolensville & College Grove
Incomes run higher, schools score higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Murfreesboro
Crime runs lower, though tree cover is thinner.
Dickson, Fairview & Burns
Local pay stretches further, though fewer households have young kids.
Columbia, Franklin & Spring Hill
More residents vote.
La Vergne & Smyrna
Prices have run up less.
Gallatin, Lebanon & Mount Juliet
It is quieter and homes cost less.
Downtown Nashville
Biking is better and streets are more walkable.
Hendersonville, Madison & Goodlettsville
Scores close to Downtown Nashville, except that fewer homes sit empty here.
Springfield, Ashland City & Joelton
Health outcomes score lower and commutes are longer.
Nashville shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Nashville's strengths and weaknesses
Nashville lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State finances is the standout, in the top 3% of metro areas. A strong job market and what local pay buys follow.
The one real hole is the weather, near the bottom of the country. Long commutes and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Nashville ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of metro areas
- Local economyBetter than 95% of metro areas
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of metro areas
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of metro areas
- Household income$95,906 median, better than 83% of metro areas
Where Nashville ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of metro areas
- Short commute27.8 minutes each way, better than only 10% of metro areas
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of metro areas
- WalkabilityBetter than only 29% of metro areas
- BikingBetter than only 32% of metro areas
What it costs to buy a home in Nashville
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nashville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,906, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Nashville's effective rate of 0.49%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Nashville
Nashville runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Nashville.
Who works in Nashville, and how
Work in Nashville centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Nashville
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Nashville.
Is Nashville growing, and who is moving in?
Nashville has grown about 20% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Knoxville, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Nashville go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Nashville, month by month
Nashville sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 32° |
| April | 72° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Nashville
Nashville International sits about 6 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 Nashville
Schools across Nashville average a C+, better than 48% of metro areas.
Top elementary schools
- Mcfadden School Of ExcellenceA+ · 97% proficient
- Discovery SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Thurman Francis Arts Academy/magnet School For The ArtsA+ · 92% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brentwood Middle SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Fred J Page Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Woodland Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Magnet SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Hume - Fogg HighA+ · 93% proficient
- Brentwood High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nashville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nashville 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 Nashville against the other 386 metro areas.
Who Nashville suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of metro areas, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Nashville
Is Nashville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nashville ranks 140th of 387 metro areas. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and what local pay buys, and lowest on the weather and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nashville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $463,108. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $95,906 median income, cost of living beats 92% of metro areas.
Is Nashville safe?
Nashville is safer than 36% of metro areas. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $495 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Nashville?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 32. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of metro areas.
What are the best neighborhoods in Nashville?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Nolensville & College Grove, Murfreesboro, and Dickson, Fairview & Burns. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Nashville good for families?
Schools beat 48% of metro areas, crime safety beats 36%, and childcare runs $792 a month.
Is Nashville good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of metro areas, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 82% of metro areas. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Nashville with other metro areas
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nashville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nashville 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.
Nashville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nashville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nashville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nashville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nashville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nashville 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.