Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Tennessee with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Tennessee that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Tennessee at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Medina.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Tennessee For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Tennessee reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Tennessee
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Tennessee
- Best Places To Retire In Tennessee
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Tennessee For 2026
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4. Smithville
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Population: 5,288
Median Home Price: $285,424
Population Change: 2.5%
Home Price Change: 2.0%
More on Smithville: Crime | Movers
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Population: 5,144
Median Home Price: $147,014
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: -2.7%
More on Bolivar: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,678
Median Home Price: $273,218
Population Change: 2.4%
Home Price Change: 0.9%
More on Dunlap: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,727
Median Home Price: $269,410
Population Change: 1.5%
Home Price Change: 1.8%
More on Lafayette: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,472
Median Home Price: $262,491
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: 5.2%
More on Mount Carmel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,566
Median Home Price: $230,191
Population Change: 1.0%
Home Price Change: 3.1%
More on Rockwood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Tennessee for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Tennessee. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Tennessee with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Tennessee with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Tennessee, only 101 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 101 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Medina is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Volunteer State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Tennessee for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Tennessee. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Tennessee are Medina, Pleasant View, Ashland City, Smithville, Madisonville, Bolivar, Dunlap, Lafayette, Mount Carmel, and Rockwood.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Tennessee reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Tennessee
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medina | 5,407 | $320,514 | 2.6% | 0.3% |
| 2 | Pleasant View | 5,276 | $416,777 | 3.2% | 0.4% |
| 3 | Ashland City | 5,424 | $349,646 | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| 4 | Smithville | 5,288 | $285,424 | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| 5 | Madisonville | 5,241 | $286,953 | 1.1% | 3.3% |
| 6 | Bolivar | 5,144 | $147,014 | -0.5% | -2.7% |
| 7 | Dunlap | 5,678 | $273,218 | 2.4% | 0.9% |
| 8 | Lafayette | 5,727 | $269,410 | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| 9 | Mount Carmel | 5,472 | $262,491 | -0.6% | 5.2% |
| 10 | Rockwood | 5,566 | $230,191 | 1.0% | 3.1% |
| 11 | Mckenzie | 5,631 | $189,717 | -1.3% | 3.0% |
| 12 | Jonesborough | 6,232 | $334,164 | 2.9% | 2.1% |
| 13 | Sweetwater | 6,532 | $256,822 | 1.1% | 2.1% |
| 14 | Erwin | 5,988 | $223,110 | -0.2% | -1.3% |
| 15 | Kingston | 6,224 | $329,855 | 3.0% | 1.4% |
| 16 | Munford | 6,588 | $287,684 | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| 17 | Thompson’s Station | 8,294 | $815,216 | 5.6% | 5.9% |
| 18 | Harriman | 6,090 | $239,088 | 1.1% | 4.6% |
| 19 | Pigeon Forge | 6,375 | $423,693 | 0.5% | 2.0% |
| 20 | Henderson | 6,411 | $177,751 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 21 | Millersville | 5,836 | $360,650 | -0.8% | -0.2% |
| 22 | Church Hill | 7,139 | $261,208 | 1.2% | 3.8% |
| 23 | La Follette | 7,273 | $161,646 | -0.5% | 18.5% |
| 24 | Greenbrier | 6,971 | $382,696 | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| 25 | Newport | 6,881 | $227,026 | 0.0% | 3.7% |
| 26 | Savannah | 7,412 | $196,053 | 2.7% | 4.4% |
| 27 | Fayetteville | 7,057 | $254,902 | 0.3% | 2.3% |
| 28 | Dayton | 7,625 | $264,804 | 6.0% | 2.8% |
| 29 | Pulaski | 8,285 | $250,196 | -0.2% | 0.4% |
| 30 | Milan | 8,244 | $181,685 | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| 31 | Lexington | 7,962 | $216,845 | 0.2% | 5.3% |
| 32 | Ripley | 7,658 | $140,000 | -0.8% | 7.2% |
| 33 | Oakland | 9,979 | $353,491 | 4.6% | -0.4% |
| 34 | Humboldt | 7,787 | $155,460 | -0.2% | 0.3% |
| 35 | Jefferson City | 8,579 | $304,011 | 1.3% | 0.2% |
| 36 | Signal Mountain | 8,860 | $623,274 | -0.0% | 0.3% |
| 37 | Winchester | 9,799 | $359,609 | 2.1% | -0.5% |
| 38 | Covington | 8,587 | $208,118 | -0.3% | 3.6% |
| 39 | Fairview | 10,009 | $560,109 | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| 40 | Lenoir City | 11,110 | $411,983 | 4.0% | 1.9% |
| 41 | Nolensville | 15,074 | $836,735 | 3.6% | 1.8% |
| 42 | Atoka | 10,385 | $350,767 | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| 43 | Brownsville | 9,622 | $163,990 | -0.1% | -4.1% |
| 44 | Alcoa | 12,222 | $314,717 | 5.0% | 1.9% |
| 45 | Clinton | 10,239 | $332,660 | 1.0% | 3.3% |
| 46 | Paris | 10,338 | $213,853 | 0.2% | 3.5% |
| 47 | Union City | 10,982 | $167,472 | -0.5% | 3.5% |
| 48 | Martin | 10,915 | $214,360 | 0.5% | 2.3% |
| 49 | Millington | 11,289 | $238,392 | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| 50 | Manchester | 12,944 | $325,769 | 2.3% | 1.2% |
| 51 | Hartsville/trousdale County | 11,957 | $392,886 | 1.3% | 7.4% |
| 52 | Lawrenceburg | 11,844 | $240,471 | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| 53 | Collegedale | 11,330 | $418,364 | 1.3% | -0.7% |
| 54 | Crossville | 12,428 | $304,996 | 1.3% | -0.9% |
| 55 | Arlington | 15,205 | $409,249 | 1.4% | -0.4% |
| 56 | Red Bank | 12,010 | $307,145 | 0.4% | -1.2% |
| 57 | Lewisburg | 12,861 | $299,243 | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| 58 | White House | 14,631 | $388,292 | 5.4% | 0.3% |
| 59 | Lakeland | 14,192 | $445,695 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 60 | Portland | 13,449 | $332,793 | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| 61 | Soddy-Daisy | 13,231 | $359,449 | 0.9% | 0.1% |
| 62 | Elizabethton | 14,374 | $229,441 | 0.1% | -0.9% |
| 63 | Mcminnville | 13,844 | $255,402 | 0.6% | 1.7% |
| 64 | Athens | 14,471 | $260,344 | 1.6% | 2.9% |
| 65 | Greeneville | 15,646 | $248,040 | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| 66 | Dickson | 16,424 | $344,966 | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| 67 | Dyersburg | 15,979 | $165,486 | -0.6% | 2.4% |
| 68 | Goodlettsville | 17,597 | $389,925 | -0.0% | -0.1% |
| 69 | Springfield | 19,255 | $331,463 | 1.4% | 1.8% |
| 70 | Sevierville | 18,397 | $417,023 | 1.6% | 1.1% |
| 71 | Tullahoma | 21,103 | $293,828 | 2.1% | 0.9% |
| 72 | East Ridge | 22,070 | $257,872 | 0.2% | -0.0% |
| 73 | Shelbyville | 24,661 | $313,350 | 2.2% | 0.5% |
| 74 | Farragut | 24,634 | $688,600 | 1.3% | 0.9% |
| 75 | Bristol | 27,636 | $234,603 | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| 76 | Oak Ridge | 32,693 | $322,989 | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| 77 | Maryville | 32,392 | $390,045 | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| 78 | Morristown | 31,527 | $266,072 | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| 79 | Cookeville | 36,088 | $320,761 | 1.5% | 2.0% |
| 80 | Lebanon | 44,788 | $443,605 | 6.8% | 0.0% |
| 81 | La Vergne | 40,243 | $346,621 | 3.3% | -0.7% |
| 82 | Mount Juliet | 42,073 | $562,744 | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| 83 | Germantown | 40,673 | $485,879 | -0.3% | 1.3% |
| 84 | Columbia | 45,441 | $374,475 | 3.3% | 1.4% |
| 85 | Gallatin | 48,532 | $435,263 | 4.0% | 0.9% |
| 86 | Spring Hill | 55,765 | $523,264 | 4.1% | 0.4% |
| 87 | Brentwood | 45,556 | $1,393,273 | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| 88 | Cleveland | 48,829 | $311,237 | 1.3% | 0.5% |
| 89 | Collierville | 51,515 | $509,893 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| 90 | Smyrna | 56,692 | $403,723 | 3.0% | 0.6% |
| 91 | Kingsport | 56,262 | $254,341 | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| 92 | Hendersonville | 63,091 | $521,094 | 1.1% | 1.4% |
| 93 | Bartlett | 56,876 | $321,266 | -0.2% | -0.2% |
| 94 | Johnson City | 72,222 | $292,484 | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| 95 | Jackson | 68,435 | $227,077 | 0.5% | 2.3% |
| 96 | Franklin | 87,133 | $922,855 | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| 97 | Murfreesboro | 161,445 | $426,291 | 2.5% | 0.7% |
| 98 | Clarksville | 176,456 | $318,205 | 2.7% | -0.4% |
| 99 | Chattanooga | 185,783 | $319,578 | 1.6% | 0.1% |
| 100 | Knoxville | 195,185 | $369,216 | 0.8% | 0.9% |