Best PlacesTennessee Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Tennessee, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Tennessee ranks 40th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on biking and walkability. It does better on fast internet, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Tennessee
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 Tennessee
The counties of Tennessee, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Rutherford County & Williamson County
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and more adults hold degrees.
Knox County & Blount County
Disaster risk is lower, though fewer households have young kids.
Montgomery County
Crime runs lower and homes cost less.
Davidson County, Sumner County & Wilson County
Big-city amenities are closer.
Hamilton County
Scores close to Davidson County, Sumner County & Wilson County, except that it is quieter here.
Bradley County, McMinn County & Monroe County
Tree cover is thicker, though health outcomes score lower.
Sullivan County, Washington County & Hamblen County
More homes sit empty and biking is worse.
Madison County, Gibson County & Dickson County
Prices have run up less, though heat risk is higher.
Shelby County
Schools score lower.
Tennessee 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.
Tennessee's strengths and weaknesses
Tennessee ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Fast internet, state finances, and a strong job market carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: biking, walkability, and crime all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Tennessee ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of states
- Local economyBetter than 81% of states
- Cheap childcare$741 a month, better than 81% of states
- QuietBetter than 79% of states
Where Tennessee ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 8% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of states
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of states
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of states
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Tennessee
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tennessee home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $78,030; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Tennessee's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 Tennessee
Tennessee'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 Tennessee.
Who works in Tennessee, and how
Work in Tennessee centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Tennessee
Tennessee has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and less parkland per resident than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Tennessee and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Tennessee, month by month
Tennessee sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 75° | 61° | 48° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 51° |
The best schools in and around Tennessee
Schools across Tennessee average a C+, better than 41% of states.
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
- Montgomery Ridge Intermediate SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Farragut Middle SchoolA+ · 77% 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 Tennessee school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tennessee 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 Tennessee against the other 49 states.
Who Tennessee suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Tennessee
Is Tennessee a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tennessee ranks 40th of 50 states. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and a strong job market, 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 Tennessee expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,697. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $78,030 median income, cost of living beats 53% of states.
Is Tennessee safe?
Tennessee is safer than 11% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $587 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Tennessee?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 30. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of states.
What are the best areas in Tennessee?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Rutherford County & Williamson County, Knox County & Blount County, and Montgomery County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Tennessee good for families?
Schools beat 41% of states, crime safety beats 11%, and childcare runs $741 a month.
Is Tennessee good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 53% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 95% of states. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Tennessee with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tennessee. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tennessee 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.
Tennessee detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tennessee: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tennessee: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tennessee: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tennessee: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tennessee 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.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- 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.