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Place dossier plate
SheetTN-BROWNSVILLE-TN · Brownsville, TN 9,634 pop · income 7th pct · 6 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Brownsville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Brownsville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Vienna · lowest
39,471
Vienna · lowest
39,471 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #1
Wellston · near
39,474
Wellston · near
39,474 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #2
Lebanon · near
39,483
Lebanon · near
39,483 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #3
Brownsville · this city
39,488
Brownsville · this city
39,488 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #4
East Bernstadt · near
39,500
East Bernstadt · near
39,500 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #5
Saline · near
39,500
Saline · near
39,500 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #6
Bala Cynwyd · highest
144,453
Bala Cynwyd · highest
144,453 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Brownsville on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 9,634.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Brownsville - the verdict
Nationally, Brownsville sits in the 7th percentile for household income and the 10th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
7th
percentile, household income
17th
percentile, home value
34th
percentile, median rent
10th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Brownsville, TN
Tennessee's Brownsville is a small town, with 9,634 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Brownsville brings in $39,488 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 25.0%. Home values in Brownsville run a median of $119,700, and the median resident age is 41.1 years. Educational attainment runs 11.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 52.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 7 residential building permits were authorized in Brownsville (Low Activity), per Census BPS data. Brownsville's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3540.6 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 60.9°F with 56.1 inches of precipitation per year and 2.2 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Tennessee run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Tennessee scores 91.9 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,118 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Tennessee's average monthly utility costs around $218 (state average). The average commute for Brownsville workers runs 22.8 minutes, with 81.0% driving alone and 3.6% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 52.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Brownsville's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to within-city variation to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Brownsville, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Brownsville?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3540.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 55% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Is Brownsville growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -586 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 7 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Brownsville?
Within Tennessee, the closest population matches are Winchester (9,600 residents, $59,497 income); Oakland (9,544 residents, $89,240 income); Fairview (9,751 residents, $88,333 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Matawan, NJ (9,636 residents); Burlington, WA (9,637 residents); Walker Mill, MD (9,626 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can 6 Census tracts reveal inside Brownsville?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Brownsville?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 25.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$39,488
Home value
$119,700
Value / income
3.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What physical conditions frame life in Brownsville?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 60.9°F, with 56.1 inches of precipitation and 2.2 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Tennessee is 52.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
60.9°F
Annual precipitation
56.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
52.5
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the journey to work look like in Brownsville?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 22.8 minutes.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
3.6%
Drive alone
81.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,838 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Brownsville?
The NCES join finds 7 public schools within the city match. 11.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
7
Bachelor's degree+
11.8%
Poverty estimate
25.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 25.0% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
91.9 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Tennessee average
F
City profile score · Brownsville, TN
20/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B+
91.9 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$39,488
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
25.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
1,036 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Brownsville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 78/100 (B+) · 91.9 index
Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.8%
Household income: 6/100 (F) · $39,488
Poverty rate: 6/100 (F) · 25.0%
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,036 /100k
Where Brownsville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Brownsville's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Brownsville highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Brownsville, TN (this city): home $119,700, crime 3,541/100k
Matawan, NJ : home $447,000, crime 21/100k
Burlington, WA : home $432,900, crime 6,142/100k
Sunbury, PA : home $98,000, crime 295/100k
Middletown, KY : home $298,900, crime 3,531/100k
Winchester, TN : home $209,300, crime 2,968/100k
Oakland, TN : home $297,300, crime 580/100k
Fairview, TN : home $354,900, crime 591/100k
Halls, TN : home $275,900, crime 1,522/100k
Clinton, TN : home $204,700, crime 2,598/100k
How does Brownsville compare to other US cities?
Brownsville measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income7% higher than other cities
Home value17% pricier than other cities
Median rent34% pricier than other cities
Safety10% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Tennessee alone, Brownsville ranks #156 of 174 Tennessee cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Brownsville against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Tennessee only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Tennessee-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Brownsville near the bottom of Tennessee's cities
Among the 482 Tennessee cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Brownsville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Brownsville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#402 of 458
12th percentile in Tennessee
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 482
0th percentile in Tennessee
Median Home Value
#367 of 455
19th percentile in Tennessee
Poverty Rate
#54 of 482
89th percentile in Tennessee
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#342 of 482
28th percentile in Tennessee
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Tennessee only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
7th percentile nationally for median household income · 10th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Brownsville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Brownsville's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Brownsville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$119,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 83% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Brownsville's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,870 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,783 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Brownsville sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,870 of 15,516 and #5,783 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$39,488Brownsville, TN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Brownsville, TN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Brownsville, TN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)25.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)52.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
9,634
Median Income
$39,488
Median Home Value
$119,700
Median Age
41.1
Poverty Rate
25.0%
Labor force participation
52.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3540.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1036.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2504.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
60.9°F
Annual Precipitation
56.1"
Annual Snowfall
2.2"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Brownsville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
9,887 residents
2021
9,749 residents
2022
9,590 residents
2023
9,520 residents
2024
9,419 residents
2025
9,301 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
7
housing units authorized
Single-Family
7
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
7
7
0
$2.1M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
22.8 minutes
Drive Alone
81.0%
Carpool
9.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.8%
Work from Home
3.6%
Other
4.2%
Based on 3,838 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Tennessee statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $218
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Tennessee at $218 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Tennessee statewide averages, not a meter reading for Brownsville. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Tennessee's BEA cost-of-living index is 91.9 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Brownsville is $1,118/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Tennessee statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 52.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Tennessee statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Brownsville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Brownsville compares to similar-size Tennessee cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.