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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Tennessee does this very well. Families love the Volunteer State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Tennessee that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Tennessee for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Tennessee? That would be Athens.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 97 places in Tennessee with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Tennessee for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Tennessee? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Athens is the most expensive place to live in Tennessee.
So hopefully Milan (the cheapest place to live in Tennessee) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Tennessee and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Tennessee For 2021
/10
Population: 13,851
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.1x (3rd most expensive)
More on Athens: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Athens comes in at $31,913 and the median home value is $148,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 663,750
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.0x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.4x (3most expensive)
More on Nashville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Nashville comes in at $59,828 and the median home value is $239,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 33,454
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 52.4x (20th most expensive)
More on Cookeville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cookeville comes in at $38,256 and the median home value is $166,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 16,743
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.0x (39th most expensive)
More on Sevierville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sevierville comes in at $43,233 and the median home value is $188,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 11,545
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.9x (19th most expensive)
More on Crossville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Crossville comes in at $34,113 and the median home value is $147,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 16,870
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 9)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.6x (2most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.2x (34th most expensive)
More on Goodlettsville: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Goodlettsville comes in at $60,268 and the median home value is $218,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 66,515
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.0x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.2x (33rd most expensive)
More on Johnson City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Johnson City comes in at $41,682 and the median home value is $167,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 179,690
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.7x (19th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.0x (23rd most expensive)
More on Chattanooga: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Chattanooga comes in at $45,527 and the median home value is $167,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 33,159
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 59.6x (56th most expensive)
More on Lebanon: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Lebanon comes in at $54,228 and the median home value is $223,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 136,366
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 58.9x (53rd most expensive)
More on Murfreesboro: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Murfreesboro comes in at $62,003 and the median home value is $238,000 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Volunteer State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Tennessee to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 97 places in Tennessee that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Tennessee according to the data is Athens. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Tennessee For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Tennessee that have the highest cost of living, with Athens ranking as the most expensive city in the Volunteer State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Tennessee according to the data:
- Milan
- Lewisburg
- Manchester
For more Tennessee reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Tennessee
- Cheapest Places To Live In Tennessee
- Most Dangerous Cities In Tennessee
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Tennessee
- Safest Places In Tennessee
- Worst Places To Live In Tennessee
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Tennessee
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athens | 17.33 |
| 2 | Nashville | 17.67 |
| 3 | Cookeville | 19.67 |
| 4 | Sevierville | 22.33 |
| 5 | Crossville | 24.0 |
| 6 | Goodlettsville | 25.0 |
| 7 | Johnson City | 25.5 |
| 8 | Chattanooga | 25.83 |
| 9 | Lebanon | 26.67 |
| 10 | Murfreesboro | 27.33 |
| 11 | Martin | 28.0 |
| 12 | Collegedale | 28.67 |
| 13 | Nolensville | 28.67 |
| 14 | Franklin | 29.67 |
| 15 | Signal Mountain | 30.67 |
| 16 | Cleveland | 31.0 |
| 17 | Knoxville | 31.33 |
| 18 | Morristown | 31.67 |
| 19 | Hendersonville | 32.33 |
| 20 | Red Bank | 34.0 |
| 21 | Pigeon Forge | 34.67 |
| 22 | Gallatin | 34.67 |
| 23 | Covington | 35.0 |
| 24 | Brentwood | 35.0 |
| 25 | Springfield | 39.0 |
| 26 | Lenoir City | 39.33 |
| 27 | Clinton | 41.0 |
| 28 | Jackson | 41.33 |
| 29 | Newport | 41.67 |
| 30 | Spring Hill | 42.0 |
| 31 | Farragut | 43.0 |
| 32 | Fairview | 43.0 |
| 33 | Union City | 43.0 |
| 34 | Oakland | 44.67 |
| 35 | Mount Juliet | 45.33 |
| 36 | Lexington | 45.33 |
| 37 | Pulaski | 45.5 |
| 38 | Smyrna | 45.67 |
| 39 | Lafayette | 45.67 |
| 40 | Maryville | 46.0 |
| 41 | Columbia | 46.67 |
| 42 | Greenbrier | 47.0 |
| 43 | Jonesborough | 47.67 |
| 44 | Clarksville | 48.67 |
| 45 | Paris | 48.67 |
| 46 | Elizabethton | 49.0 |
| 47 | Erwin | 49.0 |
| 48 | Arlington | 50.33 |
| 49 | Jefferson City | 50.67 |
| 50 | La Vergne | 51.0 |
| 51 | Shelbyville | 51.33 |
| 52 | Greeneville | 52.5 |
| 53 | Kingsport | 52.5 |
| 54 | Dickson | 54.67 |
| 55 | Bristol | 55.33 |
| 56 | Harriman | 55.33 |
| 57 | Fayetteville | 55.67 |
| 58 | Loudon | 56.67 |
| 59 | Mckenzie | 56.67 |
| 60 | East Ridge | 57.33 |
| 61 | Bolivar | 57.67 |
| 62 | Germantown | 58.0 |
| 63 | Millersville | 58.67 |
| 64 | Collierville | 59.0 |
| 65 | Memphis | 59.17 |
| 66 | Lawrenceburg | 59.33 |
| 67 | Soddy-Daisy | 59.83 |
| 68 | Tullahoma | 60.33 |
| 69 | Humboldt | 60.33 |
| 70 | White House | 61.0 |
| 71 | Savannah | 61.33 |
| 72 | Sweetwater | 62.0 |
| 73 | Kingston | 62.67 |
| 74 | Bartlett | 62.67 |
| 75 | Ripley | 63.0 |
| 76 | Dayton | 63.33 |
| 77 | Church Hill | 63.33 |
| 78 | Alcoa | 63.33 |
| 79 | Millington | 64.17 |
| 80 | Oak Ridge | 64.67 |
| 81 | Lakeland | 65.33 |
| 82 | Brownsville | 65.67 |
| 83 | Hartsville/trousdale County | 67.33 |
| 84 | Mount Carmel | 67.67 |
| 85 | La Follette | 68.0 |
| 86 | Mcminnville | 68.33 |
| 87 | Winchester | 68.67 |
| 88 | Dyersburg | 69.0 |
| 89 | Atoka | 69.67 |
| 90 | Henderson | 70.0 |
| 91 | Rockwood | 70.0 |
| 92 | Portland | 72.0 |
| 93 | Dunlap | 72.67 |
| 94 | Munford | 74.0 |
| 95 | Manchester | 76.0 |
| 96 | Lewisburg | 78.0 |
| 97 | Milan | 81.33 |
