Nashville-Davidson, the state capital · Hermitage Hotel · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0How Tennessee stacks up
In Tennessee, Nolensville and Spring Hill rank near the top of the country for growth; Memphis and Dyersburg sit near the bottom. Its strength is the 7th lowest property-tax bills in the country; its weak spots, poor health (22% of adults in fair or poor health) and more crime than most states (violent crime 51% above the national figure). That balance adds up to a B− overall and 26th place among the 50 states and D.C.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
37th of 51C28/100 Crime runs high here. At 499 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Tennessee sits 5th highest among the states. Big places drag it down: Nashville and Memphis rank in the national bottom quarter. Its towns beat the statewide figure.
Counting property crime too (property + 4 × violent, the weighting our town grades use): 8th highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 60 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally.
Crime gathers in the larger cities
Its safest larger towns are Nolensville (#55), Oakland (#523) and Brentwood (#582), ranked against every U.S. town of 10,000+. At the other end are Knoxville, Chattanooga and Murfreesboro, in the quarter of U.S. towns reporting the most crime per resident. The statewide rate ranks 5th highest, but town by town it places 23rd of 48.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Tennessee | 7% | 67% |
Places without a police force of their own
Each town’s figure is built from its own department’s FBI reports, so towns with gaps sit out rather than being estimated. Here the towns counted hold 97% of residents of towns of 10,000+. One town, Soddy-Daisy, has too few years reported and sits out. In Farragut, Seymour, Arlington and five other places, county or state police answer the calls, so there is no town figure. Next door, coverage runs from 55% in Virginia to 98% in Kentucky.
Schools
8th of 51A86/100 Better schools than most states. Results outrun the money: 42nd in spending, 15th on the test. Compared with 31% nationally, 34% of its 4th and 8th graders test Proficient. It leads its neighbors on schools, ahead of Virginia.
On-time graduation, 87.3% (22nd highest), weighs equally with test results in the grade.
It spends $13,059 per pupil, 10th lowest (context only; spending isn’t graded).
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 68 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally. Covers 81% of residents of Tennessee’s 10,000+ towns.
Cost of living
16th of 51B+70/100 More affordable than most. Its tax bills rank 7th lowest, its home prices against income 18th highest. Property-tax bills run $1,442 a year, the 7th lowest of the 50 states and D.C. The state total looks better than its towns do.
Against income, home values rank 18th highest: 4.1 times the median household’s.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 69 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
43rd of 51C−16/100 Health trails most states. Compared with 19% nationally, 22% of adults here report fair or poor health. Big places drag it down: Memphis and Knoxville rank in the national bottom quarter.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 68 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally. Covers 81% of residents of Tennessee’s 10,000+ towns.
Housing
35th of 51C32/100 A few more renters than average. Compared with 65% nationally, 67% of homes here are owner-occupied. Big places drag it down: Nashville and Memphis rank in the national bottom quarter.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 69 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
28th of 51B−46/100 Typical natural-hazard risk. Most of that risk is inland flooding (63%), with earthquakes a distant second. Inland flooding drives 63% of the $133 a year FEMA expects natural hazards to cost per $100,000 of buildings (22nd lowest). 6% of residents live in a top-quarter town, 23% in a bottom-quarter one; Greeneville ranks highest.
Federal major-disaster declarations since 2015: 23, most.
Behind the figure: inland flooding 63%, earthquake 24%, tornado 10% of FEMA’s expected losses.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 69 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
28th of 51B−46/100 Typical commutes. The longest trips start in places like Hendersonville, in the national bottom quarter. Workers spend 25.7 minutes getting to work, the 20th longest commute among the states. 39% of residents live in a top-quarter town, 8% in a bottom-quarter one; Martin ranks highest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 69 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
12th of 51A−78/100 Growing, but not everywhere. From Nolensville to Memphis, its towns sit at both ends of the national ranking. Census counts show the population up 8.9% from 2010 to 2020 (18th fastest).
Builders took out permits for 7.8 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 7th most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 67 Tennessee towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Tennessee compares to its neighbors
Next to Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, it comes out ahead on schools and behind on safety.
| Tennessee | Kentucky | Virginia | North Carolina | Georgia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | B− 5026th of 51 | A− 8210th of 51 | A− 7812th of 51 | C+ 3633rd of 51 | C+ 3832nd of 51 |
| Safety | C 2847th official · 7% in top towns | A− 809th official · 10% in top towns | B 587th official · 3% in top towns | C+ 4230th official · 5% in top towns | B 5627th official · 9% in top towns |
| Schools | A 8615th official · 32% in top towns | A− 7829th official · 16% in top towns | A− 8021st official · 17% in top towns | C 3419th official · 2% in top towns | C+ 3831st official · 6% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B+ 707th official · 14% in top towns | A 908th official · 33% in top towns | C+ 4427th official · 10% in top towns | B 5615th official · 8% in top towns | B− 5220th official · 11% in top towns |
| Health | C− 1644th official · 9% in top towns | D 1244th official · 3% in top towns | B+ 7420th official · 32% in top towns | B 5830th official · 25% in top towns | C+ 4036th official · 17% in top towns |
| Housing | C 3231st official · 8% in top towns | C 3420th official · 4% in top towns | B− 5427th official · 14% in top towns | C− 2233rd official · 5% in top towns | C− 1839th official · 5% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | B− 4622nd official · 6% in top towns | C+ 4039th official · 7% in top towns | A 908th official · 72% in top towns | C+ 3634th official · 3% in top towns | A− 7615th official · 41% in top towns |
| Commute | B− 4632nd official · 39% in top towns | B+ 6820th official · 40% in top towns | C− 2042nd official · 13% in top towns | C+ 4425th official · 23% in top towns | C− 2245th official · 20% in top towns |
| Growth | A− 7818th official · 57% in top towns | C 3234th official · 15% in top towns | B− 5419th official · 19% in top towns | A− 8016th official · 59% in top towns | B+ 7413th official · 47% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work