Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lebanon is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 75th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $73K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 65% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 147 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 63% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $442K, 5.2 years of the Nashville metro’s $85K median household income. Its National Register listings include Lebanon Woolen Mills and I. W. P. Buchanan House. 25% of working residents work locally in Lebanon, against 12% in Tennessee’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Lebanon is home to Cumberland University.
Where Lebanon beats most towns.
Pickett Chapel Methodist Church (Additional Documentation)| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Cumberland University | 2,727 |
Jimmy Duncan
Census counts: 1,554 in 1850, 38,431 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1835 and 3 maps from 1951 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Lebanon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lebanon, 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 Lebanon.
Lebanon draws workers from Nashville and beyond, fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally.
30,243 jobs are based in Lebanon, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 22,791 in 2013 to 30,243.
About one in 4 of Lebanon’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Lebanon has added 7,452 jobs, to 30,243 in 2023. Lebanon’s average trip to work is 27 minutes.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 13% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Lebanon school district. Two of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 806 | B− |
| Lebanon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,816 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
The median rent in Lebanon is $1,306 a month. The typical Lebanon home is worth about $442,000, up 1.2% in a year, 34% above the Tennessee typical home. 62% of Lebanon households own their home.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,306 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 62% | 66% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Lebanon has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 29° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 24.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 56% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 919 to 540 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lebanon reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 63% report less.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.1 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 72% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Lebanon tracks Tennessee closely on all 31 CDC measures. 33% of adults have obesity in Lebanon.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 39% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 29% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 35 to 64 are 34% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (23% statewide). Lebanon has grown 39% since 2020, to 53,412 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.9, men 34.1.
| Lebanon | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.6% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.3% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.2% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.6% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2.0 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is James E. Ward Agriculture Center, at 186 acres.
| Lebanon | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Don Fox Community Park | 0.7 mi | 26 |
| 2. James E. Ward Agriculture Center | — | 186 |
| 3. Lebanon Sports Complex | — | 150 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 147 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lebanon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lebanon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaNissan Stadium
19 mi TheatreRyman Auditorium
15 mi MuseumThe Hermitage
26 mi MuseumParthenon
24 mi Stadium & arenaBridgestone Arena
26 mi Stadium & arenaFirstBank StadiumNissan Stadium: Kaldari, CC0 · Ryman Auditorium: Unknown, CC0 · The Hermitage: Jim Bowen from Zhenhai, China, CC BY 2.0 · Parthenon: Mayur Phadtare, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bridgestone Arena: EVula, CC BY 3.0 · FirstBank Stadium: Mhar564, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lebanon
About 5 of every 100 Lebanon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
26,190 counted in 2010 and 38,431 in 2020; an estimated 53,412 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 38.8% since 2020, after 46.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 places in Lebanon on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Lebanon.
City in Tennessee, United States
Lebanon ( LEB-ən-ən) is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census and has an estimated population of 51,501 as of 2024. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lebanon.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | #75 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B+ | C+ |
| Gladeville | — | — | B+ | — | A | A |
| Mount Juliet | #9 | A− | C | B+ | A | A− |
Gladeville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Gladeville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lebanon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lebanon grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #75 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
21 notable people were born here, including Jimmy Duncan and Thomas Kilby.
