The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Tennessee

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 103 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Tennessee. #1 is Unicoi, TN.

Map of the 25 towns12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Tennessee1. Unicoi100th pct2. Sewanee100th pct3. Fairfield Glade99th pct4. Tellico Village99th pct5. Signal Mountain98th pct6. Tusculum98th pct7. Harrogate97th pct8. Jonesborough94th pct9. Kingston93rd pct10. Apison93rd pct11. South Pittsburg92nd pct12. Huntingdon91st pct13. Louisville90th pct14. Algood89th pct15. Colonial Heights89th pct16. Lynchburg, Moore County m…88th pct17. Waverly88th pct18. Rogersville86th pct19. Oak Hill84th pct20. Belle Meade84th pct21. Kingston Springs84th pct22. Mount Carmel83rd pct23. Harrison82nd pct24. Church Hill82nd pct25. Mascot82nd pct
  1. 25Mascot, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 82% of Tennessee towns

    2,760 people · Knox County · median home $206,000 · income $60,250 · Jan low 27°F · 4 in snow

  2. 24Church Hill, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 82% of Tennessee towns

    6,998 people · Hawkins County · median home $211,000 · income $65,526 · Jan low 27°F · 7 in snow

  3. 23Harrison, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 82% of Tennessee towns

    7,902 people · Hamilton County · median home $307,400 · income $89,395 · Jan low 32°F · 4 in snow

  4. 22Mount Carmel, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 83% of Tennessee towns

    5,473 people · Hawkins County · median home $179,600 · income $68,866 · Jan low 27°F · 5 in snow

  5. 21Kingston Springs, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 84% of Tennessee towns

    2,824 people · Cheatham County · median home $426,500 · income $103,250 · Jan low 27°F · 1 in snow

  6. 20Belle Meade, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 84% of Tennessee towns

    2,901 people · Davidson County · median home $2,000,001 · income $250,001 · Jan low 28°F · 3 in snow

  7. 19Oak Hill, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 84% of Tennessee towns

    4,891 people · Davidson County · median home $1,199,600 · income $215,530 · Jan low 26°F · 5 in snow

  8. 18Rogersville, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 86% of Tennessee towns

    4,671 people · Hawkins County · median home $192,800 · income $47,500 · Jan low 26°F · 6 in snow

  9. 17Waverly, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 88% of Tennessee towns

    4,297 people · Humphreys County · median home $171,900 · income $43,773 · Jan low 26°F · 3 in snow

  10. 16Lynchburg, Moore County metropolitan government, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 88% of Tennessee towns

    6,461 people · Moore County · median home $285,300 · income $66,469 · Jan low 27°F · 2 in snow

  11. 15Colonial Heights, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 89% of Tennessee towns

    3,055 people · Sullivan County · median home $217,100 · income $80,148 · Jan low 27°F · 5 in snow

  12. 14Algood, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 89% of Tennessee towns

    3,963 people · Putnam County · median home $190,300 · income $42,359 · Jan low 27°F · 6 in snow

  13. 13Louisville, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 90% of Tennessee towns

    4,384 people · Blount County · median home $379,900 · income $89,744 · Jan low 30°F · 5 in snow

  14. 12Huntingdon, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 91% of Tennessee towns

    4,439 people · Carroll County · median home $160,500 · income $51,969 · Jan low 28°F · 3 in snow

  15. 11South Pittsburg, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 92% of Tennessee towns

    3,106 people · Marion County · median home $187,100 · income $57,865 · Jan low 29°F · 5 in snow

  16. 10Apison, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 93% of Tennessee towns

    4,428 people · Hamilton County · median home $459,000 · income $129,307 · Jan low 32°F · 0 in snow

  17. 9Kingston, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 93% of Tennessee towns

    5,953 people · Roane County · median home $220,000 · income $71,675 · Jan low 28°F · 2 in snow

  18. 8Jonesborough, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 94% of Tennessee towns

    5,860 people · Washington County · median home $299,200 · income $74,015 · Jan low 25°F · 8 in snow

  19. 7Harrogate, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 97% of Tennessee towns

    4,400 people · Claiborne County · median home $203,900 · income $65,586 · Jan low 23°F · 8 in snow

  20. 6Tusculum, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 98% of Tennessee towns

    3,298 people · Greene County · median home $267,500 · income $70,694 · Jan low 26°F · 8 in snow

  21. 5Signal Mountain, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 98% of Tennessee towns

    8,852 people · Hamilton County · median home $544,300 · income $141,008 · Jan low 29°F · 3 in snow

  22. 4Tellico Village, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 99% of Tennessee towns

    7,311 people · Loudon County · median home $517,200 · income $106,875 · Jan low 28°F · 4 in snow

  23. 3Fairfield Glade, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 99% of Tennessee towns

    9,152 people · Cumberland County · median home $356,800 · income $71,682 · Jan low 26°F · 6 in snow

  24. 2Sewanee, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 100% of Tennessee towns

    2,535 people · Franklin County · median home $465,500 · income $136,111 · Jan low 29°F · 5 in snow

  25. 1Unicoi, Tennessee

    Better for retirees than 100% of Tennessee towns

    3,833 people · Unicoi County · median home $244,300 · income $42,424 · Jan low 25°F · 9 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Tennessee towns0255075100$100K$333K$566K$798K$1031KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Tennessee.

More Tennessee rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 103 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Tennessee (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: