By Andrew DePietro,Contributor,The Latest Census

Copyright forbes

The skyline of beautiful Nashville, Tennessee, in the distance along the banks of the Cumberland River. The top three wealthiest cities in Tennessee are all suburbs right outside Nashville.

In recent years, Tennessee has witnessed thousands of Americans flocking there from various states. Since 2000, the population of Tennessee as grown by a staggering 27%: From around 5.7 million at the turn of the millennium, to 7.2 million in 2024. The Volunteer Star State certainly has some appeal, especially the fact that the state income tax has been eliminated. It’s also “business friendly”, ranking No. 15 out of 50 for its business tax climate, according to Tax Foundation.

Recent studies have analyzed and identified the richest cities in various states across the country. The South has been largely covered with the exception of Tennessee. Read on to find out what the richest city in Tennessee is, as well as the top 20 wealthiest cities in the state.

What Is the Richest City in Tennessee?

Utilizing data sourced from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (which is the newest data available since the 2024 data is only one-year estimates), including median household income, mean household income, median home value, and median property taxes paid, the study analyzed and put together a list of the top 50 richest cities in Tennessee. First, however, it’s crucial to take note of important characteristics concerning Census data. For example, the Census Bureau measures median household incomes up to $250,000, with households earning more being denoted as “$250,000+”. The Census also does this with median home value, which goes up to $2 million and anything above that being expressed as “$2,000,000+”. Thirdly, the same parameters apply to measuring median property taxes paid, which go up to $10,000 and any amount above that is denoted as “$10,000+”.

Therefore, mean household income was particularly useful in our analysis because, unlike median household income, mean (or average) household income has exact values for every city in Tennessee. All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.

Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 20 richest cities in Tennessee and their respective dollar figures for each metric:

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Based on this four-factor metric of median household income, average household income, median home value, and median property taxes paid, the No. 1 richest city in Tennessee is Belle Meade. This is an affluent suburb of Nashville, southwest of that city. The top industries by employment here, according to Data USA, are Health Care & Social Assistance (20.1% of the workforce), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (15.3% of the workforce), and Finance & Insurance (12.6% of the workforce), which is a common breakdown for wealthy cities. Home values are high in Belle Meade, with the average value being over $3.1 million, according to Zillow. The median household income in Belle Meade exceeds $250,000. Its average household income is by far the highest in Tennessee, at $502,662. The median property taxes paid per household is over $10,000 a year.

The No. 2 richest city in Tennessee right next door to Belle Meade—Forest Hills. This city is about double the size of Belle Meade, with 1,818 total households compared to 920. Like Belle Meade, the median household income in Forest Hills is more than $250,000. The average household income is substantial, at $391,215 a year. Compare both of those incomes to the state’s median income of only $67,097. The average home value, according to Zillow, is quite elevated compared to the rest of the state, at $1.84 million, which is up 7.5% since last year. Property taxes are lower here than in the No. 1 richest city. The median amount paid per year is just under $6,500 per household.

No. 3 Oak Hill borders Forest Hills to the east. This city includes communities such as Leland Manor, Overton Lea, Gateway Acres, and Brookhaven Estates. This place is roughly the same size as Forest Hills, being home to 1,821 households. The employment breakdown is similar to Belle Meade, with the top three industries being Health Care & Social Assistance (14.8% of the workforce), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (14.5% of the workforce), and Educational Services (12.65 of the workforce). The median income here is more than $200,000 per year. Its mean household income is much higher, at $350,064. According to Zillow, the average home value is $1.55 million, while the median reported by the Census is a little lower at $1.09 million. Property taxes aren’t too bad considering the high median home value. It costs households a median of $5,682 a year in property taxes.

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