Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 188,829, Clarksville does unevenly: it grades C−, 126th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee. Its schools outperform 62% of the state's. The trade-off: its police reported 692 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. 38% of working residents work locally in Clarksville, above both the Tennessee town median (12%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Emerald Hill and White Chapel. Only 5 of the 177 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Clarksville.
Where Clarksville beats most towns.
Sevier Station (Additional Documentation)| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Austin Peay State University | 7,285 |
Pat Summitt
Its founding year, 1785, comes before those of 96% of the Tennessee towns we grade with a known year. Its 37 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Tennessee towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,850 in 1860, 166,722 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1792 and 3 maps from 1951 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Clarksville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clarksville, 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 Clarksville.
Clarksville fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally, looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Tennessee.
40 miles of trail in 27 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is APSU Farm & Environmental Education Center, at 452 acres.
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Montgomery County Rotary Park | 8 mi | 129 |
| 2. Heritage Park | 2.1 mi | 110 |
| 3. Liberty Park | 0.8 mi | 149 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Montgomery County school district. Three of its 45 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rossview ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,188 | A+ |
| West Creek HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,600 | C |
| Barksdale ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 509 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
At 31.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 62% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 3,990 to 3,131 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Clarksville is 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Clarksville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less.
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.8 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 27.8°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 76% of Tennessee places with climate records; July afternoons average 89.4°.
Clarksville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Clarksville’s July high is 89°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 29°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
27% of residents are under 18 in Clarksville. Clarksville has grown 13% since 2020, to 188,829 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Adults 18 to 34 are 31% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 10% of residents (17% statewide).
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 31 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 27% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 23% | 29% |
49.9% women, 50.1% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.4 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.0, men 30.1.
| Clarksville | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.8% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.5% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.3% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.9% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.2% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.8% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
About one in 3 of Clarksville’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Clarksville has added 10,584 jobs, to 48,435 in 2023. The top destinations are Nashville (19%), Hopkinsville (2%) and Memphis (2%).
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 9.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 71% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Clarksville beats the Tennessee average on 8 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 46% of Clarksville adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Clarksville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 29% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 41% | 35% |
| What stands out | Clarksville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.7% | 7% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 16.1% | 13.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
188 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 30 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 188 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clarksville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clarksville. Close and well known come first.
16 mi CaveBell Witch Cave
19 mi State parkJefferson Davis State Historic Site
28 mi National BattlefieldFort Donelson National Battlefield151K visitors a yearin town MuseumDon F. Pratt Memorial MuseumBell Witch Cave: Www78, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jefferson Davis State Historic Site: Bbadgett, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Donelson National Battlefield: Hlj at English Wikipedia, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Clarksville
About 9 of every 100 Clarksville residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
132,929 counted in 2010 and 166,722 in 2020; an estimated 188,829 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13.2% since 2020, after 25.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
37 places in Clarksville on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Clarksville.
City in Tennessee, United States
Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, its county seat, and only incorporated municipality. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in Tennessee. It is the principal city of the Clarksville metropolitan area, which consists of Montgomery and Stewart counties in Tennessee and Christian and Trigg counties in Kentucky. The city was founded in 1785 and incorporated in 1807, and named for General George Rogers Clark, frontier fighter and Revolutionary War hero, and brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clarksville is the home of Austin Peay State University; The Leaf-Chronicle, the old…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clarksville grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #126 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
35 notable people were born here, including Pat Summitt and Dorothy Jordan.
.jpg){kind=link}