Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brownsville grades D− overall, 173rd among Tennessee's 175 graded towns, mostly because of health and schools. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. Its schools rank behind 95% of the state's. It also has a long history, with 12 places on the National Register. 37% of working residents work locally in Brownsville, above both Tennessee’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 13 of Tennessee’s 155 towns score lower on safety. Its National Register listings include Zion Church and Temple Adas Israel.
Where Brownsville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Zion Church
Tina Turner| Widest gap | Brownsville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 36.8% | 16.2% |
Census counts: 971 in 1850, 9,788 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 3 maps from 1951 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Brownsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brownsville, 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 Brownsville.
Brownsville has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Tennessee (mostly earthquakes) and has poverty well above the Tennessee rate.
36% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Brownsville. Only 8 of the 176 Tennessee towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Brownsville. 22% of adults report frequent mental distress in Brownsville.
| Brownsville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 24% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 12% |
| What stands out | Brownsville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10% | 14.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 8.2% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 36.8% | 16.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Haywood County school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny Hill Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 349 | D |
| Haywood High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 733 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 369 to 255 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Brownsville is 8.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Brownsville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Brownsville home is worth about $169,000, up 1.2% in a year, 49% below the Tennessee typical home. 48% of Brownsville households own their home.
| Brownsville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $767 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of Tennessee towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Brownsville’s FEMA risk score is 80 of 100. Since 1987, 58 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brownsville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Brownsville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 30° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Brownsville’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Brownsville grew to 4,440 in 2023, 225 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Jackson (16%), Memphis (5%) and Bells (3%).
| Brownsville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 26% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Brownsville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Brownsville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
10 places in Brownsville on the National Register of Historic Places.
28 notable people were born in Brownsville.
City in Tennessee, United States
Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 9,788. The city is named after General Jacob Jennings Brown, an American officer of the War of 1812.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brownsville grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #173 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D− for health, D for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($50,472 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
28 notable people were born here, including Tina Turner and Richard Halliburton.
