Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brentwood grades A overall, 4th among Tennessee's 175 graded towns. Its public schools are among the best in Tennessee. The median household earns $182K and residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $1.4 million for a typical one and 16.3 times the Nashville metro’s $85K median household income. 74% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Brentwood, above both the Tennessee town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Its National Register listings include Mooreland and James Johnston House. On safety, just 13 of Tennessee’s 155 towns do better.
Where Brentwood beats most towns.
Mooreland| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Kenrose Elementary | K–5 | 721 |
| Crockett Elementary | PK–5 | 697 |
| Scales Elementary | K–5 | 641 |
Census counts: 4,099 in 1970, 45,373 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 5 maps from 1932 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Brentwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brentwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaNissan Stadium
11 mi MuseumParthenon
15 mi TheatreRyman Auditorium
11 mi Stadium & arenaBridgestone Arena
11 mi Stadium & arenaFirstBank Stadium
10 mi Stadium & arenaGeodis ParkNissan Stadium: Kaldari, CC0 · Parthenon: Mayur Phadtare, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ryman Auditorium: Unknown, CC0 · Bridgestone Arena: EVula, CC BY 3.0 · FirstBank Stadium: Mhar564, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Geodis Park: CheckeredYeti, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brentwood, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Brentwood.
Brentwood has schools in the top 5% of Tennessee, draws workers from Nashville and beyond and fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally.
At 16.3 years of the Nashville metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home (about $1.39M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Tennessee towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Franklin is next at $913K.
Brentwood’s median rent is $2,825 a month. The typical Brentwood home is worth about $1,389,000, up 4.1% in a year, 4 times the Tennessee typical home. 90% of households own their home in Brentwood.
| Brentwood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,825 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 90% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 176 Tennessee towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.39M.
Its public schools are run by the Williamson County school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,109 | A+ |
| Ravenwood High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,975 | A |
| Crockett ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 697 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
24 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Marcella Vivrette Smith Park, 391 acres with 5 miles of trail. The trail density in Brentwood is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Brentwood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Marcella Vivrette Smith Park | 5 mi | 391 |
| 2. Owl Creek Park | 1.1 mi | 24 |
| 3. Crockett Park | 1 mi | 170 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Tennessee is food insecurity: 5.7% of its 32,495 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.2% statewide. Against the 1,303 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brentwood’s, it is healthier than 54%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
10% of Brentwood adults report frequent physical distress. Among 176 Tennessee towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Brentwood. 14% of Brentwood adults report frequent mental distress.
| Brentwood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 20% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 19% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Brentwood | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 16.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.5% | 14.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
48,857 jobs are based in Brentwood, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 36,782 in 2013 to 48,857.
Most working residents leave Brentwood for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Brentwood grew to 48,857 in 2023, 12,075 more than in 2013. Only 3 of the 177 Tennessee towns we compare have a higher share of workers working from home than Brentwood.
| Brentwood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Median household income | $182,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 10.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 455 to 313 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 134 Tennessee towns, just 8 have a lower violent crime rate than Brentwood.
| Brentwood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Brentwood has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
301 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 31 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 301 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brentwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15 within 15 miles of the center of Brentwood
About 4 of every 100 Brentwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
37,060 counted in 2010 and 45,373 in 2020; an estimated 45,313 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 22.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
20 places in Brentwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Brentwood.
City in Tennessee, United States
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census. It is a suburb of Nashville and included in the Nashville metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Brentwood.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood | #4 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A |
| Franklin | #5 | A | D | B | A+ | A |
| Nolensville | #1 | A+ | C− | A+ | A+ | A |
| Nashville | — | — | D | D− | — | — |
Nashville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Brentwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brentwood grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #4 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,389,000, 320% above the Tennessee typical home and up 4.1% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
10 notable people were born here, including Dawson Knox and Robbie Ray.
