Where are the best places in the state of Tennessee?
To the untrained eye they are the places that have awesome economies. They’re the places in Volunteer State where people have the best jobs, residents are all above average, and the sun shines the most.
However, here at HomeSnacks, we don’t trust the untrained eye and instead look to data to understand the best places to call home in Tennessee.
There might be some surprises on this list, but when you look at the unbiased data, it’s hard to argue against.
After analyzing 91 places in Tennessee, we came up with this list of the best places.
Here are the 10 best places to live in Tennessee for 2019:
- Germantown (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Brentwood (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Signal Mountain (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Collierville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Spring Hill (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Franklin (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Collegedale (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Nolensville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Bartlett (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Mount Juliet (Photos | Homes For Sale)
Well, it looks like you should check out Germantown if you’re thinking of moving to Tennessee — it’s the best the Volunteer State has to offer according to the data.
Follow along as we provide more insight into how we reached our overall best places to live in Tennessee.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.
For more Tennessee reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Tennessee
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Tennessee
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Tennessee
The 10 Best Places To Live In Tennessee For 2019
/10
Population: 39,213
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $296,300 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (8th best)
More on Germantown: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Germantown has it made. In fact, according to science, it’s one of the best places to live in the state of Tennessee.
The unemployment rate is the 8th lowest in the state at 3.7%, and residents make a pretty penny. Median incomes are $107,376, and the average cost of a home is $296,300. Which is an indication that lots of people want to live here.
We wouldn’t be surprised if more and more publications call Germantown one of America’s gems.
/10
Population: 40,873
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $555,800 (1st best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.8% (2nd best)
More on Brentwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Things can’t get much better than in the town of Brentwood. The crime is the 4th lowest in the entire state, and the residents who live in Brentwood make huge salaries, and almost all of them have great jobs.
The median home costs a cool $555,800 and households make $148,340 which is good for 1st in Tennessee.
/10
Population: 8,500
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $325,900 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (14th best)
More on Signal Mountain: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Signal Mountain has some of the most employed as well as the highest earning residents in the entire state of Tennessee. Factor in a very low crime rate, and this Signal Mountain is a real gem.
With high incomes comes a high cost of living, which can been seen in the home prices. Additionally, the commute time for Signal Mountain residents to work is significantly higher than average.
/10
Population: 48,005
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $278,600 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (10th best)
More on Collierville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Collierville isn’t just the nicest place to live in Tennessee – it’s also the one of the fastest growing places in the state. And with good reason.
It’s got the 10th lowest unemployment rate, the 2nd highest adjusted income, and rates above most places in education.
When you’re looking at science and data, Collierville definitely deserves a spot on the list for 2019.
/10
Population: 34,364
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $225,800 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (6th best)
More on Spring Hill: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Spring Hill is known for having a great education system and has the 88th shortest commute time.
Additionally, the unemployment rate in Spring Hill is the 6th lowest in Tennessee and the median income is the 12th highest in the state.
/10
Population: 70,625
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $342,900 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (13th best)
More on Franklin: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Franklin comes in 6th in our best places to live in Tennessee analysis.
Ranking highly for its exceptionally low unemployment rate (13th overall) and crime rate (18th overall), Franklin is the exact kind of place you’d want to live with a family.
Several large companies call the surrounding area home which should keep Franklin in our lists for years to come.
/10
Population: 10,438
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $194,400 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (10th best)
More on Collegedale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Collegedale ranks 7th on our list of best places to live in Tennessee thanks to its low unemployment and high adjusted median income.
Additionally, its crime rate ranks in the lowest 10% of all places in Tennessee that we examined.
People have been flocking to Collegedale over the past years. Goes to show that everyone wants in on this great community.
/10
Population: 6,724
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $341,400 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (4th best)
More on Nolensville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
In Nolensville, everyone loves to call Nolensville home! The median home value is the 3rd highest in Tennessee.
Additionally, the unemployment rate is the 4th lowest in the state. and the crime rates are some of the lowest in Volunteer State.
/10
Population: 58,318
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $171,300 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (17th best)
More on Bartlett: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Say what you want about cheap living. The fact is, homes are priced by demand, and there’s A LOT of demand to live in Bartlett.
Bartlett ranked impressively high for its crime rate (24th overall) and its short commute times (68th).
We think that’s worth the price of admission.
/10
Population: 29,853
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $223,800 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (12th best)
More on Mount Juliet: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Mount Juliet is a cute little city where crime is far below the state average, and where it’s affordable. The schools are also solidly rated.
Home prices clock in at $223,800 and households earn a median salary of $77,965. One could get used to that.
Mapping The Best And Worst Places To Live in Tennessee
The Pressing Question: Size
Before we even started to collect data, we had to answer a tough question: Is it fair to pit cities with populations over 100,000 against places with a population of 18?
We firmly decided no, that just isn’t fair.
So to create our ranking, we broke places to live into three tiers:
- Cities — Populations over 5,000
- Towns — Populations between 1,000 and 5,000
- Small Towns — Populations below 1,000
This left us with 91 cities, 175 towns, and 136 small towns.
We then decided, no matter how much anyone loves their town, the best places have more of everything and therefore you need to have over 5,000 people to truly be ‘the best’.
Now we also realize that city living might not be your cup of tea, so we ran the following analysis on towns and then again for small towns.
You can see those two top tens at the bottom of the post.
How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Tennessee
Now that we had our set of cities, it was time to rank them.
We ranked each place in Tennessee across a number of criteria from one to 91, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Place To Live In Tennessee”.
The criteria we looked at were:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher better)
- Unemployment Rate
- Commute Time
- Crime
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty rates
Sources of criteria include the New Census Data and FBI Crime Data.
After the dust settled, what was the best place to live in Tennessee? That would be Germantown.
If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Tennessee.
Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with Germantown at the end of the cul-de-sac.
Wrapping Up The Best Places When It Comes To Living In Tennessee
If you’re looking at areas in Tennessee with the best economic situations, where there’s lower than average crime, and a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
Germantown made a strong showing to take in the overall number one spot for the best place to live in Tennessee for 2019.
Best Towns To Live In Tennessee
- Lookout Mountain (Pop. 1,930)
- Belle Meade (Pop. 2,704)
- Oak Hill (Pop. 4,686)
- Sewanee (Pop. 2,503)
- Forest Hills (Pop. 4,999)
- Gray (Pop. 1,806)
- Medina (Pop. 4,025)
- Shackle Island (Pop. 3,290)
- Walden (Pop. 1,907)
- Lakesite (Pop. 1,911)
Best Small Towns To Live In Tennessee
- Ridgeside (Pop. 671)
- Rockvale (Pop. 822)
- Bell Buckle (Pop. 401)
- Walterhill (Pop. 355)
- Rockford (Pop. 788)
- Berry Hill (Pop. 793)
- Baneberry (Pop. 487)
- Garland (Pop. 343)
- Oak Grove CDP (Sumner (Pop. 215)
- Gibson (Pop. 316)
If you’re curious enough, here are the worst places to live in Tennessee according to the data:
- La Follette (Pop. 7,131)
- Savannah (Pop. 7,043)
- Ripley (Pop. 8,249)
For more Tennessee reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Tennessee
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Tennessee
- 10 Safest Places In Tennessee
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Tennessee
Where Are The The Best Places To Live In Tennessee?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germantown | 39,213 |
| 2 | Brentwood | 40,873 |
| 3 | Signal Mountain | 8,500 |
| 4 | Collierville | 48,005 |
| 5 | Spring Hill | 34,364 |
| 6 | Franklin | 70,625 |
| 7 | Collegedale | 10,438 |
| 8 | Nolensville | 6,724 |
| 9 | Bartlett | 58,318 |
| 10 | Mount Juliet | 29,853 |
