Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Smithville earns a D−, 157th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $33K, and 33% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Smithville, against 14% in Tennessee’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 177 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Smithville.
Where Smithville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Evans Block| Widest gap | Smithville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.3% | 14.6% |
Where Smithville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Smithville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 572 in 1890, 5,004 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Smithville, 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 Smithville.
Smithville draws workers from McMinnville and beyond, fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Against the 952 U.S. towns with household incomes like Smithville’s, it is less healthy than 68%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
20% of adults report frequent physical distress in Smithville. Among 176 Tennessee towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Smithville. 22% of adults report frequent mental distress in Smithville.
| Smithville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Smithville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.3% | 14.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.8% | 16.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 18% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the DeKalb County school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is DeKalb County Schools Adult Education Virtual School, with 784 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 544 | C+ |
| De Kalb County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 781 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
3,548 jobs are based in Smithville, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.1 minutes, against 25.7 across Tennessee.
24% of Smithville working residents work locally. The top destinations are Nashville (14%), Murfreesboro (5%) and Lebanon (5%). Half commute less than 33 miles.
| Smithville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $33,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 25.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
Smithville’s violent crime rate is 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Smithville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Smithville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 28° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
68.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.8% across Tennessee.
The typical Smithville home is worth about $284,000, up 1.8% in a year, 14% below the Tennessee typical home. The median rent in Smithville is $740 a month.
| Smithville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $740 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Smithville; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Smithville residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
4,530 counted in 2010 and 5,004 in 2020; an estimated 5,620 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 12.1% since 2020, after 10.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 notable people were born in Smithville.
City in Tennessee, United States
Smithville is a city in DeKalb County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,004 at the 2020 census, up from 3,994 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeKalb County. Smithville is home to the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree, which it has hosted annually since 1972.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Smithville grades D− overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #157 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D− for health, C for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($53,153 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 B−.
5 notable people were born here, including Charles P. Cantrell and Dan Evins.
