Best PlacesWilson County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wilson County, 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.
Wilson County ranks 303rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $99,520, 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 Wilson 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.
The best areas in Wilson County
The parts of Wilson County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Mount Juliet
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Suggs Creek
Fewer households have young kids and more homes sit empty.
Lebanon
It is quieter, though tree cover is thinner.
Old Hickory
Schools score higher and more residents vote.
Watertown
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Wilson County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 8% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Wilson County's strengths and weaknesses
Wilson County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. A strong job market is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. What local pay buys and state finances 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 measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Wilson County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$99,520 median, better than 92% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of counties
Where Wilson County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 16% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 34% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Wilson County
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wilson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $99,520; 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 Wilson County's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 Wilson County
Wilson 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 Wilson County.
Who works in Wilson County, and how
Work in Wilson County 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 81%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Wilson County
Wilson County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Wilson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Wilson County growing, and who is moving in?
Wilson County has grown about 36% 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 Wilson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Wilson County, month by month
Wilson County sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Wilson County
Nashville International sits about 16 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 Wilson County
Schools across Wilson County average a B, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Springdale Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Mt. Juliet ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Lakeview Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gladeville Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Mt. Juliet Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- West Wilson Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Mt. Juliet High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Green Hill High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Wilson Central High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wilson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wilson 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 Wilson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Wilson County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Wilson County
Is Wilson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wilson County ranks 303rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and state finances, 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 Wilson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $428,985. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $99,520 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Wilson County safe?
Yes, Wilson County is safer than 69% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Wilson County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 30. That works out to about 57 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Wilson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mount Juliet, Suggs Creek, and Lebanon. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Wilson County good for families?
Schools beat 80% of counties, crime safety beats 69%, and childcare runs $811 a month.
Is Wilson County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 77% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Wilson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wilson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wilson 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.
Wilson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wilson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wilson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wilson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wilson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wilson 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.