CliftonTN
A typical home costs 3 years of the county’s $52K median household income.
Is Clifton a good place to live?
Clifton’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and history; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 40% of residents live below the poverty line in Clifton, above both Tennessee’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 4 of Tennessee’s 291 towns score lower on incomes. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. On history, just 6 of Tennessee’s 292 towns do better. Clifton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Clifton stand out
Where Clifton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Typical home value
| Widest gap | Clifton | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.2% | 14.6% |
How Clifton grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Clifton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Clifton: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clifton, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Clifton.
A larger share of adults smoke cigarettes in Clifton than in most of Tennessee or the rest of the country
28% of adults smoke cigarettes in Clifton, above both the Tennessee town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 48% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Clifton. Among 177 Tennessee towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Clifton.
| Clifton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 19% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 39% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Clifton | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 26.1% | 30.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.2% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Clifton’s schools rank behind 92% of Tennessee districts
Its public schools are run by the Wayne County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hughes SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 276 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
The typical home in Clifton is valued at about $158K
The typical Clifton home is worth about $158,000, up 0.7% in a year, 52% below the Tennessee typical home. Clifton’s median rent is $681 a month.
| Clifton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $681 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 66% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The FEMA risk score in Clifton is higher than in the typical Tennessee or U.S. town
The FEMA risk score in Clifton is 86 of 100. Since 1983, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clifton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Clifton
Clifton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 29° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
With 0.9 jobs for every working resident, most of Clifton’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Clifton for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Clifton grew to 587 in 2023, 45 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Waynesboro (15%), Nashville (11%) and Columbia (3%).
| Clifton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.8% | 12% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Clifton has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
1.6 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Clifton
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Clifton; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Clifton residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
About Clifton
City in Tennessee, United States
Clifton is a city in Wayne County, Tennessee, on the state's south central border with Alabama. It developed as a river port along the Tennessee River in the 19th century. Its historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places are associated with this period. As of the 2020 census, Clifton had a population of 2,651.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 404 ft
- ZIP code
- 38425
- Area code
- 931
Questions about Clifton
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Clifton, TN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
What is Clifton, TN known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Thomas Sigismund Stribling and Robert Selph Henry.