The 10 Best College Towns In Tennessee For 2024


Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Tennessee.

Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and Tennessee is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Tennessee are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

Without further ado, here are the best college towns in Tennessee for 2024.

The 10 Best College Towns In Tennessee For 2024

  1. Knoxville, TN
  2. Collegedale, TN
  3. Martin, TN
  4. Cookeville, TN
  5. Memphis, TN
  6. Murfreesboro, TN
  7. Henderson, TN
  8. Franklin, TN
  9. Dayton, TN
  10. Chattanooga, TN

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Knoxville, Collegedale and Martin - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Knoxville ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Read on to find out more or for more on Tennessee check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In Tennessee For 2024

Knoxville, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Nathan C. Fortner (User:Nfutvol at en.wikipedia) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 191,857
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.1% (6th best)
Median Rent: $1,043 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 481.9% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 16th best
More on Knoxville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Pellissippi State Community College, Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville

Collegedale, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Graham Patton | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 11,001
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.6% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,366 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 268.7% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Collegedale: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Southern Adventist University

Martin, TN
Source: Flickr User stephenyeargin | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 10,823
% Undergrad Pop.: 50.6% (best)
Median Rent: $746 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 650.3% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 10th best
More on Martin: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: The University of Tennessee-Martin

Cookeville, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Brian Stansberry | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 34,967
% Undergrad Pop.: 19.7% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $855 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 613.3% (12th best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on Cookeville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Tennessee Technological University, Fortis Institute-Cookeville, Mr Wayne's School of Unisex Hair Design

Memphis, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
3
/10

Population: 630,027
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.3% (14th best)
Median Rent: $1,050 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 861.4% (16th best)
Crime Rank: 19th best
More on Memphis: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Memphis, Southwest Tennessee Community College, Christian Brothers University

Murfreesboro, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Huntster | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 153,487
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.2% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,272 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 433.9% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on Murfreesboro: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro, Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro

Henderson, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Ichabod | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 6,326
% Undergrad Pop.: 22.7% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $672 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 370.7% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Henderson: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Freed-Hardeman University

Franklin, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Ichabod | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
9
/10

Population: 83,630
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.2% (19th best)
Median Rent: $1,785 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 257.7% (best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Franklin: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: O'More College of Design, Williamson Christian College

Dayton, TN
Source: Flickr User somegeekintn | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 7,139
% Undergrad Pop.: 8.6% (8th best)
Median Rent: $752 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 596.0% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Dayton: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Bryan College-Dayton, Oxford Graduate School

Chattanooga, TN
Source: Wikipedia User Imilious~commonswiki | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 181,288
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.9% (13th best)
Median Rent: $1,066 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 507.9% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 17th best
More on Chattanooga: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Chattanooga State Community College, The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Chattanooga College Medical Dental and Technical Careers

How'd we figure out the best college towns in Tennessee?

To crunch our data on Tennessee's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 19 places in Tennessee with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Tennessee For 2024".

And it looks like Knoxville placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The

If you're looking for the best college towns in Tennessee, you came to the right place.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

19 Best College Towns In Tennessee

Rank City Population
1 Knoxville, TN 191857
2 Collegedale, TN 11001
3 Martin, TN 10823
4 Cookeville, TN 34967
5 Memphis, TN 630027
6 Murfreesboro, TN 153487
7 Henderson, TN 6326
8 Franklin, TN 83630
9 Dayton, TN 7139
10 Chattanooga, TN 181288
11 Greeneville, TN 15458
12 Maryville, TN 31876
13 Nashville, TN 684103
14 Clarksville, TN 167882
15 Athens, TN 14091
16 Pulaski, TN 8301
17 Lebanon, TN 39562
18 Jackson, TN 67993
19 Bristol, TN 27307

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?