City profile · Tennessee · Census ACS 2023

Nashville-Davidson, TN

Nashville-Davidson's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

684,298
Residents
$75,197
Median income
$383,100
Median home
$1,118
Median rent (state)
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Place dossier plate

Sheet TN-NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON-TN · Nashville-Davidson, TN 684,298 pop · income 56th pct · 174 tracts

POP-MAJOR · INC-HIGH · COL-BELOW · SAFE-UNK · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-MEGA

  • POP-MAJOR 684,298
  • INC-HIGH $75,197
  • COL-BELOW 91.9
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-MID 56th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Laguna Beach
  • HOME-MID $383,100
  • BOOK-MEGA 174 tracts

Nearest income peer: Laguna Beach, FL ( $3 income $)

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 Nashville-Davidson

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Nashville-Davidson on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Nashville-Davidson on ACS population and median household income . 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: 684,298.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $75,197. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Nashville-Davidson - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Nashville-Davidson lands in the 56th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

56th
percentile, household income
76th
percentile, home value
34th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Nashville-Davidson, TN

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 684,298 residents in Nashville-Davidson, a mid-sized U.S. city within Tennessee. Median household income here is $75,197 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.3%. Home values in Nashville-Davidson run a median of $383,100, and the median resident age is 34.4 years. About 46.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 68.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 6,799 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 30% from five years earlier.

Living costs in Tennessee run below the national norm: the state registers 91.9 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,118 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $218 across Tennessee, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 52.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Nashville-Davidson'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 population change to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Nashville-Davidson, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles. No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Population change

Is Nashville-Davidson growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.

Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +31,294 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 6,799 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

See the national growth ranking →

2. Within-city variation

What can 174 Census tracts reveal inside Nashville-Davidson?

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.

PlainCities matches 174 Census tracts to this city.

Explore Nashville-Davidson's tract profiles →

Question 3

Which cities make useful reference points for Nashville-Davidson?

Within Tennessee, the closest population matches are Memphis (629,063 residents, $51,211 income); Knoxville (193,721 residents, $50,994 income); Chattanooga (182,832 residents, $61,028 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Oklahoma City, OK (688,693 residents); El Paso, TX (678,147 residents); Washington, DC (672,079 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

4. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Nashville-Davidson?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 68.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Compare commute patterns →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

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 Nashville-Davidson?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.3%, 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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Household income
$75,197
Home value
$383,100
Value / income
5.1×

City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Population

684,298 residents

Large city (200k–999k)

Median Household Income

$75,197 /yr

Above median income · poverty 10.3% (Above-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

91.9 (US=100)

Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Tennessee average

City profile score · Nashville-Davidson, TN

61/100

4 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.

Bachelor's+ share A-
46.9%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

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.

Household income C
$75,197

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate F
10.3%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Nashville-Davidson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Cost of living, Household income, Poverty rate. Bachelor's+ shareCost of livingHousehold incomePoverty rate 61 C+
Nashville-Davidson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 81/100 (A-) · 46.9%
  • Cost of living: 78/100 (B+) · 91.9 index
  • Household income: 55/100 (C) · $75,197
  • Poverty rate: 38/100 (F) · 10.3%

How does Nashville-Davidson compare to other US cities?

Nashville-Davidson measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 56% higher than other cities
Home value 76% pricier than other cities
Median rent 34% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Nashville-Davidson 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 Nashville-Davidson near the bottom of Tennessee's cities

Among the 482 Tennessee cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Nashville-Davidson ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Nashville-Davidson only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#99 of 458
78th percentile in Tennessee
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 482
0th percentile in Tennessee
Median Home Value
#38 of 455
92nd percentile in Tennessee
Poverty Rate
#234 of 482
51st percentile in Tennessee
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#31 of 482
94th 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.

56thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

56th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Nashville-Davidson's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$383,100 24th percentile more affordable than 24% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). This entry sits in this band. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Nashville-Davidson $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Nashville-Davidson's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.1×

ACS median home value divided by median household income, a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability score.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,058 of 15,516
More affordable than 16% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#70 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)

At 5.1×, Nashville-Davidson sits in the pressured band: national rank #13,058 of 15,516 and #70 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

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

$75,197 Nashville-Davidson, TN median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Nashville-Davidson, TN Nashville-Davidson, TN's median household income ($75,197) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Nashville-Davidson, TN-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Nashville-Davidson, TN median $75,197/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Nashville-Davidson, 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 Nashville-Davidson, TN.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 46.9%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 10.3%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 68.8%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
684,298
Median Income
$75,197
Median Home Value
$383,100
Median Age
34.4
Poverty Rate
10.3%
Labor force participation
68.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
46.9%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
660,000 residents680,000 residents700,000 residents720,000 residents740,000 residents 202020212022202320242025 689,780 residents 721,074 residents ▲ +4.5%
Nashville-Davidson's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 689,780 residents
2021 676,133 residents
2022 686,747 residents
2023 696,121 residents
2024 711,830 residents
2025 721,074 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
6,799
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2,662
detached homes
Multifamily
4,137
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
9.9
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 9,765
2020 13,149
2021 16,137
2022 14,795
2023 11,158
2024 6,799

Permit volume decreased 30% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
68.1%
Carpool
8.3%
Public Transit
1.7%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
18.3%
Other
1.7%

Based on 376,578 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 Nashville-Davidson. 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 Nashville-Davidson 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 Nashville-Davidson sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Nashville-Davidson 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Nashville-Davidson (this city) 684,298 $75,197
Memphis 629,063 $51,211
Knoxville 193,721 $50,994
Chattanooga 182,832 $61,028
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

Browse all city profiles → · Explore city rankings →

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Verify with BEA →

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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