Tennessee cities

The best places to live in Tennessee

Tennessee's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Collierville leads the list.

We scored Tennessee's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
7 Franklin $468,200 $1,630 52 72
11 Hendersonville $304,200 $1,270 50 61
14 Clarksville $172,700 $1,016 60 58
20 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government $291,400 $1,250 37 45
24 Chattanooga $189,500 $958 32 43
26 Murfreesboro $274,600 $1,152 36 41
30 Johnson City $179,800 $824 32 36
34 Knoxville $154,500 $938 33 29
36 Jackson $149,000 $919 32 25
37 Memphis $113,700 $965 46 23

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Tennessee. Updated 2026.