Best places to retire in Tennessee, scored on tax, price and the freeze

Retiring in Tennessee: the money rules at a glance (2026)

Best places to retire in Tennessee: where to start and how the score works

If you want one place to start, look at Nolensville or Thompson's Station: effective tax of 0.41% and 0.35% of value plus Williamson County's freeze, the highest income limit on the Comptroller's 2026 list. The catch is that neither town freezes its own share of the bill and their typical homes cost $728,431 or more. If price matters more than tax, start with Mount Juliet at $556,817.

Every place in Tennessee already gives you the same income tax result, so the score ignores it and compares what differs:

• Price, 30 points: Zillow's typical home value, September 2026.
• Property tax, 30 points: the effective rate on market value. Williamson County towns use 2026 official combined rates; other places use 2025 Comptroller rates and their county appraisal ratio (labeled 2025).
• Tax freeze, 25 points: the 2026 income limit for the freeze that covers a home there, from the Comptroller's list. Where the county and the city both run one, we use the lower limit; where neither does, the place scores zero.
• One-year value change, 15 points: Zillow, September 2025 to September 2026.

Points on each input run from zero for the worst of the 17 places to the full weight for the best, in proportion. Healthcare access, crime and school ratings aren't scored, because we don't have one consistent source for all 17. Spring Hill is scored on its Williamson County side only, since Maury County's 2026 rate isn't verified. This is a site about relocating to Franklin, so check Franklin's fifth place against the table rather than taking it on trust.

The best places to retire in Tennessee: 1 to 6

1. Nolensville: 80.5

The appeal is a $1.64 combined 2026 rate (about $3,421 a year on the $834,285 typical home) under Williamson County's $69,150 freeze. The town itself isn't on the Comptroller's city freeze list, so the freeze holds the county share of the bill while the town's $0.34 share can still change. Values rose 3.56% in a year.

2. Thompson's Station: 80.2

Thompson's Station has the lowest rate on the list, $1.403 in 2026, and only $0.103 of that is the town's share. That's what makes it the best freeze town in practice: with the county share frozen, almost the entire bill (about $2,555 on the $728,431 typical home) is locked. Homes and prices in Thompson's Station are covered on its own page.

3. Mount Juliet, a Wilson County city: 79.7

Mount Juliet adopted its own city freeze in 2025, so both the Wilson County and city shares can be frozen under the $63,470 income limit. The typical home costs $556,817. The catch: Wilson County's 2025 appraisal ratio was 0.6854, so today's low estimated bill (about $2,098) may rise at the next reappraisal, and a freeze locks in whatever the bill is in the year you qualify.

4. Spring Hill, Williamson County side: 78.4

On the Williamson side, both the county and the city freeze use the $69,150 limit, and the 2026 combined rate is $2.009 (about $2,606 on the $518,832 typical home). The Maury side is a different deal: Maury County has no county freeze and the city's Maury-side limit is $47,280. Check which county a Spring Hill parcel is in before anything else.

5. Franklin: 78.0

Franklin's typical home, $913,277, carries about $3,575 a year outside the Franklin Special School District (FSSD) at the 2026 rate of $1.566. The county freeze could lock about $2,900 of that (the $1.27 county share); the city's $0.296 share, about $676, isn't covered because Franklin hasn't adopted a city freeze. Price is what keeps Franklin out of the top four.

6. Lebanon, a Wilson County city: 77.5

Lebanon's $441,712 typical home is the cheapest of the top six. Its city freeze limit of $51,790 is lower than Wilson County's $63,470, which is why it scores lower on the freeze input than Mount Juliet. Wilson County's 0.6854 appraisal ratio also applies here, so the estimated $1,964 bill can rise at reappraisal, and a freeze only holds the bill you have in the year you qualify.

Places to retire in Tennessee ranked 7 to 12

7. Fairview: 76.6

Fairview has both a county and a city freeze at $69,150 and the cheapest typical home of any town entirely inside Williamson County, $535,208. Its city rate went up in 2026, taking the combined rate to $2.1404 (about $2,864 a year), and that higher rate costs it points on the score.

8. Smyrna, a Rutherford County town: 76.4

Smyrna pairs a $400,537 typical home with county and city freezes at $63,470. Its value fell 0.78% this year, which helps a buyer, but Rutherford County's 0.8462 appraisal ratio means the estimated $2,035 bill can rise at the next reappraisal.

9. Knoxville: 76.1

Knoxville has the cheapest home in the top ten ($368,965) and Knox County's $63,470 freeze, but no city freeze on the Comptroller's list, and the city's share of the 2025 rate (2.1556 per $100) is larger than the county's. An effective rate of about 0.67% costs it points.

10. Gallatin, a Sumner County city: 73.8

Gallatin's $436,321 home and roughly $2,128 tax bill look good until you reach the freeze line. Sumner County's limit, $48,550, is the lowest county limit on the list, and Gallatin's city freeze uses the same figure.

11. Murfreesboro: 73.6

Murfreesboro has county and city freezes at $63,470 and a $424,348 typical home, but its estimated effective tax, about 0.60%, is the highest in the Nashville ring.

12. Hendersonville, a Sumner County city: 71.4

Hendersonville shares Sumner County's $48,550 freeze limit with Gallatin, at a higher price of $515,384. If your 2025 household income falls between $48,550 and $69,150, you'd qualify for the county freeze in Franklin or Nolensville and miss it here.

The bottom five places to retire in Tennessee on the score

13. Brentwood: 69.3

Brentwood has a low 2026 rate ($1.49) and Williamson County's freeze, and it ranks second if you score tax and freeze alone. The $1,388,985 typical home is what drops it. Like Franklin, Brentwood has no city freeze, but its city share is small at $0.19.

14. Chattanooga: 66.4

Chattanooga has a city freeze at $63,470 but Hamilton County isn't on the Comptroller's freeze list, so the county share of the bill can't be frozen. Its effective rate of about 0.86% is the second highest scored.

15. Nashville: 65.9

Metro Nashville's freeze covers the whole Davidson County bill at a $63,470 limit, which is a real advantage over split city and county systems. Nashville's effective rate of about 0.70% and a 2.53% drop in value this year pull it down.

16. Columbia, Maury County: 56.8

Columbia would rank much higher on price ($369,414) but scores zero on the freeze: neither Maury County nor the City of Columbia appears on the Comptroller's 2026 freeze list.

17. Memphis: 52.9

Memphis has county and city freezes at $63,470 and the cheapest home on the list at $151,794, but its effective rate of about 1.32% is the highest of the 17.

Best places to retire in Tennessee compared

Estimated tax uses Zillow's typical value; your bill depends on the assessor's appraisal. Freeze limits are household income for 2025, from all sources, as the Comptroller lists them for 2026.

Re-weight the retire score for your own situation

If your income is under the freeze limits, weight tax and freeze 50/50 and drop price: Thompson's Station, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville and Mount Juliet take the top five, and Columbia falls to last. If you're over every freeze limit, the freeze input is worth nothing to you; weight price and tax 50/50 instead, and Lebanon, Mount Juliet and Smyrna lead. Our best places to live in Tennessee ranking uses ten-year value growth in place of the freeze.

How the Tennessee property tax freeze works when you retire

The freeze is a local option. A county or city adopts it, and then an owner who is 65 or older, lives in the home and is under the income limit can lock that government's share of the tax at the amount for the year they qualify. You re-apply every year, and the frozen amount resets if you move or add improvements.

Williamson County tax freeze rules for 2026

In Williamson County you must be 65 by December 31, 2026, own and live in the home, and have combined 2025 income of no more than $69,150 from all sources, including Social Security and pensions. The freeze covers the residence and up to 5 acres. The details, forms and deadlines are on our Williamson County property tax guide.

Which Tennessee cities freeze their share too

On the Comptroller's 2026 list, Fairview, Spring Hill, Mount Juliet, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Gallatin, Hendersonville, Chattanooga and Memphis run city freezes. Franklin, Brentwood, Nolensville and Thompson's Station don't, so only the county share is frozen there. Thompson's Station loses the least from that, because its town rate is $0.103.

Property tax relief when you retire in Tennessee

Tennessee State Property Tax Relief for owners 65 and older

The state program pays part of the bill for owners who are 65 by December 31, 2026, live in the home and had combined 2025 household income of $38,470 or less. Relief is figured on up to $33,600 of market value, which at Franklin's 2026 rate outside the FSSD is about $132 a year. You apply after the 2026 bill arrives, through the county trustee, with taxes paid by the deadline; Williamson County takes applications until April 5, 2027.

Disabled veteran relief in Tennessee

Disabled veterans and their surviving spouses have no income limit, and relief is figured on up to $175,000 of market value: about $685 a year at Franklin's $1.566 rate.

Williamson County Broad Base Tax Relief

Williamson County adds its own refund for owners 65 and older with combined 2025 income up to $63,000. It's paid by check after the year's taxes are paid in full and covers part of the county property tax, wheel tax and sales tax.

Does Tennessee tax retirement income?

No. Tennessee doesn't tax wages, and the Hall tax on interest and dividends ended for tax years starting in 2021, so Social Security, pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals carry no state income tax. There's also no inheritance tax for deaths after 2015. Our rundown of Tennessee income tax rules covers the details. What you pay instead is sales tax: up to 9.75%, and 6.75% on groceries in Williamson County. When you're ready to make the move, the Tennessee relocation checklist puts the license, car and voter steps in order.

Confirm how these rules apply to your own income and estate with a Tennessee CPA.