Living in Brentwood, TN: home values, taxes and the commute

Is Brentwood right for you?

Brentwood, TN at a glance

What it costs to own in Brentwood each year

Prefilled with the typical price used in this guide for Brentwood. Add HOA dues if the home has them: ask the HOA for its current budget. Insurance isn't estimated: get a quote.

Tax year 2026 rates (Williamson County and city 2026 rate tables). Tennessee assesses homes at 25% of appraised value. An estimate, not a tax bill: confirm the jurisdiction on the parcel record and check with the Williamson County Trustee or a CPA.

Brentwood, TN property tax: low rate, high bill

The city adds 19 cents to the county's $1.30, less than Franklin's 29.6 cents or Nolensville's 34. On a $1,388,985 house, though, the bill is about $5,174 a year, or roughly $431 a month in escrow.

If your budget clears $1 million and your job is in Maryland Farms or downtown Nashville, start here: Brentwood costs less tax per dollar of house than Franklin or Nolensville. Under about $900,000, start with Franklin outside the FSSD line or Nolensville.

Brentwood property tax on a $1 million home

At $1 million, the assessed value is $250,000 and the 2026 bill is $3,725. The same $1 million house inside Franklin's FSSD area would pay $5,608, so on equal prices Brentwood is the cheaper place to own by about $1,883 a year. A simpler way to compare: every $100,000 of Brentwood house adds about $373 a year in tax, against $392 in Franklin outside FSSD, $410 in Nolensville and $561 in Franklin inside FSSD.

Where a Brentwood tax bill goes

Of the $5,174 on a typical home, about $660 is the city's 19 cents. The county's school levy of 77 cents is the biggest share, about $2,674, and the county's general fund, debt service and other levies make up the remaining $1,840 or so. Roughly half of a Brentwood bill funds Williamson County Schools. The full breakdown by levy is in the Williamson County property tax guide.

Why Brentwood's city rate dropped to 19 cents

Brentwood cut its rate from 29 cents to 19 in 2025, the year of the countywide reappraisal, and held it for 2026. A pre-2025 tax figure on a listing sheet will overstate the rate; recompute it in the property tax calculator for Williamson County.

Cost of living in Brentwood, TN: what drives it

Housing is the cost that sets Brentwood apart. Sales tax and car fees are the same as anywhere else in Williamson County, and Tennessee doesn't tax wages, so the house payment and the tax on it do most of the work in your budget.

Home values in Brentwood and the 37027 ZIP

Zillow's city figure for Brentwood rose 4.08% in the year to September 2026, faster than Franklin's 3.02%, and it's up 114.57% over ten years. The 37027 ZIP figure, $1,220,331, runs lower than the city's because the ZIP boundary doesn't match city limits. Use the city figure for a typical Brentwood home and ask for recent sales in the specific subdivision before an offer.

Water and sewer service in Brentwood

Brentwood Water Services runs the pipes and the billing but doesn't treat water. Drinking water comes from Harpeth Valley Utility District and Metro Water Services, depending on the area, and Metro Nashville treats the sewage under contract. Check which supplier serves an address on the city's Water Services page, and ask the seller for a year of water bills so you can see the real monthly figure for that house and lot. Power, gas and internet providers are covered in the Franklin-area utilities guide.

Sales tax on Brentwood purchases

Purchases in Brentwood pay the same 9.75% combined rate as the rest of Williamson County, and groceries 6.75%. On a $40,000 car the single-article cap holds the tax to about $2,888 rather than $3,900; the sales tax guide for Tennessee explains the single-article cap on big purchases.

Monthly cost of a Brentwood home at 7.4%

Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.4% in mid-October 2026. With 20% down, principal and interest on the typical Brentwood home come to about $7,694 a month before tax and insurance. The table runs three Brentwood price points at the 2026 rate of $1.49.

Insurance isn't in these figures; the Tennessee homeowners insurance guide covers what drives the premium.

Closing taxes on a Brentwood purchase

Tennessee charges a transfer tax of 37 cents per $100 of the price, which the buyer pays by statute: about $5,139 on $1,388,985. A borrower also pays the mortgage tax of 11.5 cents per $100 on the loan above $2,000, about $1,276 on an 80% loan at that price. The guide to Tennessee closing costs covers the rest of the settlement sheet.

The Brentwood housing market in 2026

Brentwood held its value through a soft year, and that should set your expectations on price. Zillow's typical Brentwood home rose 4.08% in the 12 months to September 2026, while the typical Nashville home fell 2.53%. If you've been watching Nashville listings come down, don't carry that discount over the county line.

The metro-wide numbers give you some room, not much. Across the Nashville metro, homes took 64 days to go under contract in August 2026 and 34% of listings had a price cut, but those figures cover every price point. Homes there sold for 97.8% of list on average; on a $1,388,985 list price that would be about $30,558 under asking, a regional average to test against the subdivision's own closed sales, not a Brentwood forecast.

At this price the mortgage rate moves your budget more than the tax does. Each half point on the $1.1 million loan behind a typical Brentwood purchase changes principal and interest by about $383 a month, about $4,600 a year, or seven times what the city's 19-cent levy costs ($660). Ask for the last six months of closed sales in the subdivision before you write an offer; the Franklin housing market report tracks the monthly trend.

How far is Brentwood, TN from Nashville and Franklin?

Brentwood's center is about 10 miles from downtown Nashville and about 9 from Franklin, and it's the first Williamson County city you reach driving south on I-65. City Hall is on Maryland Way, inside the Maryland Farms office district.

Driving from Brentwood to downtown Nashville

From the city's center it's about 10.4 miles to downtown Nashville by road, the shortest drive of any Williamson town. That's a free-flow distance; I-65 at rush hour is slower. The Franklin to Nashville commute guide covers the I-65 corridor, transit and BNA.

From Brentwood to Franklin and Cool Springs

Franklin is about 9.2 miles away. The Cool Springs office and shopping district sits on the line between the two cities, so a Cool Springs job is a short drive from either. See the Cool Springs area guide for what's there.

Maryland Farms and Brentwood employers

Maryland Farms is Brentwood's main office district, and Tractor Supply's headquarters is in Brentwood. If your job is there, a Brentwood or north Franklin address keeps the drive short.

Homes for sale in Brentwood: what the zoning gives you

Zoning explains what you'll see on a Brentwood tour: the city reports 90% residential, 5% commercial and 5% service institutional use across its 42 square miles.

Brentwood's 90% residential zoning

With so little commercial land, most of Brentwood is subdivisions of single-family homes, and you'll drive to the commercial districts for errands. When you compare prices, compare within a subdivision: a city-wide figure blends very different lot sizes and home ages.

Checks before an offer on a Brentwood home

• Confirm the address is inside Brentwood city limits on the Assessor's property search; a Brentwood mailing address doesn't prove it.
• Ask which water supplier serves the street.
• Ask the HOA, if there is one, for its current budget and any planned special assessment.
• Run the address through the WCS zone lookup.

The history of Brentwood in its landmarks

The city incorporated on April 15, 1969, with 3,378 residents, and counted 45,373 in the 2020 Census. The area's history runs much further back: the city notes 15th-century Native American villages and mounds, and an 1858 newspaper ad that sold the young village as a retreat for health and pure air. The buildings it lists as landmarks are Ravenswood Mansion (1825), Boiling Spring Academy (1830) and the Cool Springs House (1830).

What school system serves Brentwood, TN?

The city is outside the Franklin Special School District, so public schools in the city are run by Williamson County Schools (WCS), PreK through 12. There's no city school district and no FSSD levy on a Brentwood bill. WCS ran 52 schools across the county in MTIDA's 2026 profile, and the same county school levy funds every one of them, so a Brentwood address doesn't pay extra for its schools the way an FSSD address in Franklin does.

WCS zone lookup for Brentwood addresses

Assignments are set by the school board and can change when schools open or fill up. Enter the exact address on the WCS Bus Routes & School Zones page rather than relying on a listing's school names. The guide to Franklin and Williamson County schools explains how WCS and FSSD divide the area.

Private schools near Brentwood

If you're weighing private school, our private schools guide lists the options in Franklin and the Nashville area.

Parks and things to do in Brentwood

The city says it runs 14 parks, split between the west side (Granny White, Wikle, Maryland Way Park and the Maryland Farms Greenway Trail among them) and the east side.

Crockett Park and Smith Park in Brentwood

Crockett Park and Marcella Vivrette Smith Park are on the east side, along with Concord, Owl Creek, River and Windy Hill parks and a dog park. The city publishes a trail guide for Smith Park and a trail system guide for east Brentwood, and it runs a summer concert series and an Arbor Day celebration each year.

Brentwood's Tower Park and the WSM tower

Tower Park, on the city's east-side list, holds the historic WSM broadcast tower, one of the four landmarks the city names on its About page.

Moving to Brentwood: your first month

The paperwork after a move into Brentwood is the same as anywhere in Williamson County, with one local difference: your water account goes through the city, not a utility district.

City Hall and city services in Brentwood

City Hall is at 5211 Maryland Way, open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, (615) 371-0060. Set up water service with Brentwood Water Services before closing so the account is in your name on move-in day.

Tennessee driver's license for Brentwood residents

Williamson County's only full-service driver center is the Franklin Driver Service Center at 3830 Carothers Parkway. Bring your Real ID documents and two proofs of Brentwood residency; the Tennessee driver's license guide lists them.

Registering a car as a new Brentwood resident

Title and registration go through the Williamson County Clerk. The 2026 new-resident registration fee is $68.75, including the county's $25.75 wheel tax, and Tennessee no longer requires emissions testing. Electric vehicles pay $200 extra at renewal and hybrids $100. The Tennessee car registration guide has the documents list.

Voter registration in Brentwood

If you're moving from another Tennessee county, your registration doesn't follow you: register again with the Williamson County Election Commission at your Brentwood address. Moving from another state, you register fresh once you've established residency.

Brentwood or Franklin: what decides it

If Franklin is your other option, the choice comes down to budget and which side of the FSSD line the Franklin homes sit on.

The same budget in Brentwood or Franklin

At $1.39 million, Brentwood's typical price buys well above Franklin's typical home, and you'd pay about $5,174 in tax. Spend that same amount in Franklin outside FSSD and the bill is $5,438; inside FSSD, $7,790. Franklin gives you a historic downtown and more homes under $900,000; Brentwood gives you the shorter Nashville drive and lower tax per dollar of house.

When Brentwood beats Franklin on yearly cost

At the same price, Brentwood pays less tax than Franklin on either side of the FSSD line: $373 per $100,000 of house against $392 or $561. Resale has run close too: Brentwood's typical value is up 33.1% over five years and 114.57% over ten, Franklin's 30.9% and 109.8%, and neither has had Nashville's recent decline.

Over $1 million with a job in Nashville or Maryland Farms, pick Brentwood. Under $900,000 the choice tilts to Franklin or Nolensville, where the typical house is far below Brentwood's. The Williamson County towns overview puts every town on one table, and Bill can walk Brentwood and Franklin streets with you by video.