10 Best Counties To Live In Tennessee [2025]

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Tennessee a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Tennessee.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Volunteer State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Tennessee, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 95 counties in the state.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary

The 10 Best Counties To Live In Tennessee For 2025

Williamson County
Wilson County
Sumner County
Maury County
Loudon County
Rutherford County
Dickson County
Knox County
Fayette County
Cheatham County

Williamson County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Tennessee. And you should avoid Hancock County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Tennessee. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Tennessee and the cheapest places to live in Tennessee.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The Best Counties To Live In Tennessee For 2025

1. Williamson County

Source: Wikipedia User Skye Marthaler | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Franklin
Population: 254,609
Median Income: $131,202 (best)
Median Home Price: $673,700 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.0% (2nd best)
More on Williamson County:

2. Wilson County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Lebanon
Population: 153,587
Median Income: $94,048 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $397,000 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (19th best)
More on Wilson County:

3. Sumner County

Source: Wikipedia User Ichabod | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Hendersonville
Population: 200,553
Median Income: $86,005 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $364,000 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.2% (13th best)
More on Sumner County:

4. Maury County

Source: Wikipedia User Flickr user jdj150 | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Spring Hill
Population: 104,855
Median Income: $74,162 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $307,500 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.5% (4th best)
More on Maury County:

5. Loudon County

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Farragut
Population: 56,996
Median Income: $80,296 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $292,600 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (5th best)
More on Loudon County:

6. Rutherford County

Source: Wikipedia User Huntster | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Murfreesboro
Population: 351,591
Median Income: $82,588 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $346,400 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (14th best)
More on Rutherford County:

7. Dickson County

Source: Wikipedia User Ralf Peter Reimann | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: Dickson
Population: 55,197
Median Income: $73,223 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $272,700 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (9th best)
More on Dickson County:

8. Knox County

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Knoxville
Population: 487,401
Median Income: $71,662 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $279,700 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (22nd best)
More on Knox County:

9. Fayette County

Source: Wikipedia User DoxTxob | GFDL

Biggest Place: Collierville
Population: 42,653
Median Income: $84,764 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $316,000 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (49th best)
More on Fayette County:

10. Cheatham County

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | GFDL

Biggest Place: Ashland City
Population: 41,500
Median Income: $82,015 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $291,400 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (3best)
More on Cheatham County:

Safest Places In Tennessee

Methodology: How do you determine which Tennessee county is the best?

To give you the best county in Tennessee, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

Violent Crime Rates
Property Crime Rates
Median Home Values
Median Income
Unemployment Rates
Adult Education Levels
Health Insurance Coverage
Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Tennessee across each of the criteria from one to 95, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Tennessee.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Volunteer State.

We updated this article for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Tennessee.

Read on to see why Williamson County is the best county, while Hancock County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Tennessee.

Summary: The Best Counties In Tennessee To Call Home For 2025

Living in Tennessee can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Tennessee are Williamson County, Wilson County, Sumner County, Maury County, Loudon County, Rutherford County, Dickson County, Knox County, Fayette County, and Cheatham County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Tennessee according to the data:

Hancock County
Scott County
Grundy County

For more Tennessee reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Tennessee

Rank	County	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
1	Williamson County	254,609	$131,202	$673,700
2	Wilson County	153,587	$94,048	$397,000
3	Sumner County	200,553	$86,005	$364,000
4	Maury County	104,855	$74,162	$307,500
5	Loudon County	56,996	$80,296	$292,600
6	Rutherford County	351,591	$82,588	$346,400
7	Dickson County	55,197	$73,223	$272,700
8	Knox County	487,401	$71,662	$279,700
9	Fayette County	42,653	$84,764	$316,000
10	Cheatham County	41,500	$82,015	$291,400
11	Blount County	137,747	$74,607	$275,700
12	Robertson County	74,291	$78,439	$296,700
13	Trousdale County	11,805	$63,190	$284,100
14	Hamilton County	370,913	$72,568	$282,100
15	Moore County	6,611	$66,687	$259,300
16	Franklin County	43,478	$61,553	$215,700
17	Marshall County	35,276	$70,829	$246,100
18	Montgomery County	227,957	$72,365	$248,300
19	Smith County	20,196	$62,799	$224,500
20	Stewart County	13,859	$62,052	$182,700
21	Roane County	54,403	$66,218	$212,300
22	Anderson County	78,175	$63,171	$215,800
23	Davidson County	709,846	$75,664	$386,600
24	Tipton County	61,339	$71,736	$220,100
25	Cumberland County	62,529	$58,475	$228,000
26	Sevier County	98,802	$63,829	$259,500
27	Jefferson County	55,835	$63,084	$210,000
28	Putnam County	81,366	$56,537	$246,800
29	Lincoln County	35,617	$63,115	$209,100
30	Giles County	30,442	$61,476	$204,100
31	Washington County	134,693	$61,051	$231,700
32	Bradley County	109,743	$63,789	$230,800
33	Union County	20,141	$61,858	$186,300
34	Coffee County	58,940	$60,656	$227,300
35	Hickman County	25,229	$57,223	$192,000
36	Cannon County	14,661	$58,092	$227,600
37	Bedford County	51,291	$62,197	$255,300
38	Sullivan County	159,693	$56,802	$190,800
39	Mcminn County	54,135	$59,674	$190,400
40	Gibson County	50,610	$59,009	$149,700
41	Unicoi County	17,779	$50,381	$168,200
42	Shelby County	922,195	$62,337	$229,700
43	Crockett County	13,937	$59,049	$134,100
44	Dyer County	36,681	$54,973	$159,500
45	Greene County	70,919	$54,071	$186,400
46	Chester County	17,452	$60,543	$155,200
47	Macon County	25,793	$56,269	$211,200
48	Grainger County	23,929	$51,351	$172,000
49	Humphreys County	19,074	$59,333	$186,900
50	Overton County	22,807	$46,159	$171,700
51	Weakley County	32,959	$49,502	$136,300
52	Madison County	98,845	$58,189	$189,700
53	Van Buren County	6,293	$60,281	$149,200
54	Obion County	30,570	$53,102	$122,700
55	Warren County	41,587	$54,088	$173,900
56	Polk County	17,702	$60,227	$136,400
57	White County	27,764	$52,206	$190,200
58	Lewis County	12,784	$49,477	$157,800
59	Monroe County	47,054	$56,648	$199,700
60	Pickett County	5,062	$44,591	$162,200
61	Carroll County	28,461	$50,391	$122,100
62	Henry County	32,345	$48,540	$145,200
63	Mcnairy County	25,933	$50,714	$151,100
64	Houston County	8,293	$54,475	$150,100
65	Henderson County	27,906	$53,471	$156,000
66	Rhea County	33,299	$58,133	$178,500
67	Meigs County	13,076	$58,395	$185,500
68	Hawkins County	57,446	$55,278	$166,900
69	Benton County	15,948	$50,435	$123,400
70	Hamblen County	64,930	$52,794	$188,800
71	Dekalb County	20,551	$48,484	$206,600
72	Marion County	29,010	$58,103	$173,600
73	Lawrence County	44,901	$53,233	$176,700
74	Campbell County	39,568	$50,260	$169,500
75	Claiborne County	32,221	$46,587	$148,000
76	Sequatchie County	16,409	$52,260	$217,800
77	Johnson County	18,073	$52,152	$175,500
78	Fentress County	18,948	$50,865	$151,800
79	Carter County	56,462	$48,435	$157,200
80	Morgan County	21,193	$57,408	$144,000
81	Wayne County	16,251	$52,824	$126,600
82	Clay County	7,621	$44,712	$136,900
83	Hardin County	26,939	$49,149	$154,000
84	Cocke County	36,503	$48,416	$141,800
85	Lauderdale County	24,933	$49,205	$122,100
86	Hardeman County	25,477	$46,173	$116,800
87	Jackson County	11,882	$41,475	$135,200
88	Decatur County	11,499	$46,190	$133,900
89	Bledsoe County	14,905	$49,655	$165,400
90	Haywood County	17,672	$43,513	$119,600
91	Perry County	8,561	$50,489	$113,800
92	Lake County	6,691	$30,500	$107,000
93	Grundy County	13,665	$45,573	$133,400
94	Scott County	21,969	$42,679	$116,800
95	Hancock County	6,790	$31,995	$118,000