Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Tennessee.
Smyrna grades C overall, 86th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 86% of Tennessee towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, including 206 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Smyrna's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. 11% of residents are 65 or older in Smyrna, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 18%. Smyrna has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sam Davis House and Idler's Retreat.
Where Smyrna beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Stewarts Creek Elementary School | PK–5 | 1,173 |
| Rocky Fork Elementary School | PK–5 | 905 |
| John Colemon Elementary | PK–5 | 861 |
Sam Davis House
Jalen Ramsey39,974 counted in 2010 and 53,070 in 2020; an estimated 63,321 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 19.2% since 2020, after 32.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Smyrna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 215 in 1880, 53,070 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1810 and 4 maps from 1957 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Smyrna. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaNissan Stadium
19 mi TheatreRyman Auditorium
20 mi MuseumParthenon
18 mi MuseumThe Hermitage
19 mi Stadium & arenaBridgestone Arena
20 mi Stadium & arenaFirstBank StadiumNissan Stadium: Kaldari, CC0 · Ryman Auditorium: Unknown, CC0 · Parthenon: Mayur Phadtare, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Hermitage: Jim Bowen from Zhenhai, China, CC BY 2.0 · Bridgestone Arena: EVula, CC BY 3.0 · FirstBank Stadium: Mhar564, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Smyrna, 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 Smyrna.
Smyrna fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally, looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
Its public schools are run by the Rutherford County school district. Three of its 20 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stewarts Creek Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,173 | A |
| Stewarts Creek High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,474 | B+ |
| Thurman Francis Arts Academy/Magnet School for the ArtsTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 732 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
13 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Sharp Springs Park, at 342 acres.
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 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. Gregory Mill Dam Park | 1 mi | 33 |
| 2. Rotary Soccer Park | 0.8 mi | 30 |
| 3. Sharp Springs Park | 0.7 mi | 342 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 34 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 65% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Smyrna is 18.7 per 1,000 residents. Smyrna reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 78% report less. The violent crime rate in Smyrna is 3.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.7 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Smyrna home is worth about $401,000, down 0.8% in a year, 21% above the Tennessee typical home. Smyrna’s median rent is $1,461 a month.
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,461 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 45% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Smyrna has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 68% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Smyrna beats the Tennessee average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Smyrna.
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 29% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Smyrna | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.4% | 7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 8.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.7% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 23,372 in 2013 to 32,275.
Most working residents leave Smyrna for work: only 14% work in town. Since 2013, Smyrna has added 8,903 jobs, to 32,275 in 2023. The top destinations are Nashville (34%), Murfreesboro (10%) and La Vergne (8%).
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 11% of residents (17% statewide). Smyrna has grown 19% since 2020, to 63,321 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of Smyrna residents are under 18.
| Smyrna | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.1 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 23% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.3, men 32.7.
| Smyrna | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.6% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.1% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.7% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 61 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Smyrna.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Smyrna
About 5 of every 100 Smyrna residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
2 places in Smyrna on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Smyrna.
Town in Tennessee, United States
Smyrna is a town located in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Tennessee by population in that census. Smyrna is part of the Nashville metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Smyrna.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smyrna | #86 | C | C+ | C− | A | C |
| La Vergne | #82 | C | C+ | C− | A | C |
| Murfreesboro | #67 | C+ | C− | C− | A | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Smyrna grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #86 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.7 years of the area's median household income ($85,447 across the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
17 notable people were born here, including Jalen Ramsey and William Barksdale.
