These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Tennessee

Top 10 Most Successful Cities in Tennessee for 2026

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Success can be defined in many ways. Is it the balance in your bank account, the exhilaration of delivering a captivating presentation, or perhaps it’s that perfect punchline that wins over a crowd?

Success may also encompass something more profound and subjective, one that cannot be easily quantified.

At Zippia, we prefer quantifiable metrics to illustrate our findings. With this in mind, we have analyzed various data points to identify the top 10 most successful cities in Tennessee. Here are the results:

Disagree with our findings? Keep reading to understand the methodology behind this list.

For more TN insights, check out:

How We Determined the Most Successful Cities in Tennessee

When discussing success, many first think of financial wealth. While a higher income can indicate success, we believe there are more nuanced factors at play. For our analysis, we utilized data from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey to compile our rankings.

1. Arlington

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 11,623 Median Income: $97,500
Poverty Level: 2.6%
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%

2. Brentwood

Population: 39,059 Median Income: $138,395
Poverty Level: 2.8%
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%

3. Signal Mountain

Population: 8,416 Median Income: $97,092
Poverty Level: 2.0%
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%

4. Germantown

Population: 39,207 Median Income: $110,169
Poverty Level: 4.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%

5. Spring Hill

Population: 31,467 Median Income: $76,840
Poverty Level: 3.2%
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%

6. Farragut

Population: 21,111 Median Income: $104,715
Poverty Level: 3.7%
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%

7. Collierville

Population: 46,780 Median Income: $106,783
Poverty Level: 3.3%
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%

8. Nolensville

Population: 6,131 Median Income: $102,982
Poverty Level: 4.3%
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%

9. Lakeland

Population: 12,549 Median Income: $91,620
Poverty Level: 4.9%
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%

10. Franklin

Population: 66,596 Median Income: $81,432
Poverty Level: 6.1%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

Measuring Success

If you’re contemplating whether these metrics can truly encapsulate the success of a city and its residents, you’re not alone in that thought.

However, we stand by our quantitative approach, and we congratulate Arlington and all our winners. For those cities that did not make the list, we wish you better fortune next year!

Detailed List of the Most Successful Cities in Tennessee

Rank	City	Median Income	Poverty Rate	Unemployment Rate
1	Arlington	$97,500	2.6%	2.3%
2	Brentwood	$138,395	2.8%	4.0%
3	Signal Mountain	$97,092	2.0%	3.1%
4	Germantown	$110,169	4.0%	4.2%
5	Spring Hill	$76,840	3.2%	3.6%
6	Farragut	$104,715	3.7%	5.4%
7	Collierville	$106,783	3.3%	6.2%
8	Nolensville	$102,982	4.3%	4.3%
9	Lakeland	$91,620	4.9%	4.6%
10	Franklin	$81,432	6.1%	5.3%
11	Bartlett	$80,240	3.4%	6.3%
12	White House	$68,284	4.2%	7.1%
13	Hendersonville	$61,514	6.8%	5.6%
14	Fairview	$54,906	6.3%	6.2%
15	Mount Juliet	$73,512	8.7%	6.3%
16	Millersville	$58,968	7.1%	8.4%
17	Atoka	$80,625	6.3%	9.8%
18	Jonesborough	$49,688	14.0%	5.7%
19	Oakland	$66,981	8.8%	8.7%
20	Mount Carmel	$53,080	6.8%	9.3%
21	Maryville	$52,120	11.9%	7.5%
22	La Vergne	$53,672	8.0%	8.8%
23	Smyrna	$52,516	12.6%	7.6%
24	Clinton	$40,194	11.3%	6.4%
25	Gallatin	$46,279	12.8%	7.7%
26	Kingston	$45,424	11.5%	8.0%
27	Munford	$62,201	10.2%	10.7%
28	Goodlettsville	$52,648	11.1%	9.8%
29	East Ridge	$39,445	14.8%	6.4%
30	Church Hill	$46,034	10.3%	8.8%
31	Nashville	$46,758	16.8%	8.2%
32	Millington	$48,779	16.7%	8.5%
33	Murfreesboro	$50,337	18.4%	8.4%
34	Soddy-Daisy	$42,937	10.7%	9.7%
35	Oak Ridge	$52,534	17.0%	9.5%
36	Greenbrier	$50,641	7.3%	11.7%
37	Portland	$51,027	16.1%	10.0%
38	Collegedale	$49,688	11.3%	10.5%
39	Dickson	$34,869	15.9%	7.2%
40	Lynchburg	$43,393	10.9%	10.8%
41	Clarksville	$47,489	15.7%	10.8%
42	Johnson City	$39,121	25.4%	6.2%
43	Winchester	$39,167	19.2%	9.3%
44	Hartsville/Trousdale County	$37,211	14.6%	9.9%
45	Red Bank	$37,678	21.1%	8.2%
46	Springfield	$39,980	17.2%	10.2%
47	Bristol	$35,959	18.3%	9.4%
48	Lebanon	$41,051	17.0%	11.1%
49	Loudon	$34,195	22.7%	7.8%
50	Kingsport	$38,333	19.8%	10.1%
51	Alcoa	$34,847	21.4%	8.9%
52	Manchester	$38,063	25.3%	8.5%
53	Sevierville	$34,167	23.0%	8.1%
54	Chattanooga	$39,683	20.6%	10.7%
55	Pigeon Forge	$30,885	21.8%	8.0%
56	Dyersburg	$34,444	19.7%	10.0%
57	Knoxville	$33,494	24.8%	7.9%
58	Lexington	$41,847	20.1%	13.7%
59	Tullahoma	$35,665	19.5%	12.5%
60	Jackson	$37,988	22.0%	11.7%
61	Cleveland	$37,325	23.0%	11.1%
62	Sweetwater	$34,684	15.8%	15.5%
63	Humboldt	$31,515	20.8%	10.1%
64	Columbia	$34,325	21.2%	10.7%
65	McMinnville	$28,535	27.4%	7.0%
66	Greeneville	$32,869	25.1%	10.0%
67	Memphis	$37,099	23.6%	13.4%
68	Pulaski	$29,019	27.2%	8.4%
69	McKenzie	$35,036	27.5%	10.2%
70	Jefferson City	$34,683	22.1%	13.6%
71	Lewisburg	$32,348	19.9%	14.3%
72	Milan	$33,667	24.2%	12.1%
73	Elizabethton	$28,721	23.0%	10.4%
74	Athens	$31,807	26.5%	10.3%
75	Shelbyville	$27,743	30.3%	8.7%
76	Union City	$35,051	25.0%	16.5%
77	Crossville	$27,946	26.4%	10.1%
78	Rockwood	$28,098	30.0%	9.7%
79	Brownsville	$29,162	24.1%	13.1%
80	Fayetteville	$30,488	26.0%	13.3%
81	Morristown	$31,082	27.3%	12.7%
82	Henderson	$36,404	29.2%	19.2%
83	Lenoir City	$33,500	26.6%	17.6%
84	Erwin	$26,884	23.9%	16.1%
85	Sparta	$24,035	29.0%	11.3%
86	Lawrenceburg	$27,100	25.1%	17.6%
87	Savannah	$29,926	26.5%	21.2%
88	Paris	$29,705	31.3%	15.7%
89	Harriman	$24,495	25.5%	16.7%
90	Dayton	$29,391	32.5%	15.7%
91	Cookeville	$29,240	38.5%	13.7%
92	Martin	$30,189	36.7%	16.2%
93	Bolivar	$30,065	34.9%	23.7%
94	Covington	$26,784	27.8%	18.5%
95	Newport	$22,329	37.7%	15.3%
96	La Follette	$23,071	36.2%	18.3%
97	Ripley	$23,581	33.8%	22.6%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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