How much do households in spend on rent?

Updated annually
About $1,284, or 31.3% of their income, in 2024. This is measured by comparing median, or average, rent and median monthly income for renting households.

$1.28K

median monthly rent in Tennessee (2024)

31.3%

average share of income spent on rent in Tennessee (2024)
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.

Tennessee’s rent-to-income ratio was lower than the US overall in 2024.

Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income

The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Tennessee, the rent-to-income ratio reached 34.4% that year. Most recently, in 2024, Tennessee’s rent-to-income ratio was 31.3%, 1 percentage points lower than the national rate.

Which Tennessee metros have the most and least affordable rent?

Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 31.2% in 2020–2024.

Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in Tennessee

In 2020–2024, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 31.2%. Metro areas are made up of economically interconnected counties that include at least one urban area. A single metro area can include multiple cities and cross state lines. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Ponce, PR area at 51.8% (highest) and the Jefferson City, MO area, at 22.3% (lowest). In Tennessee, the highest and lowest were the Memphis, TN area at 33.3% and the Morristown, TN area at 27.1%.
During that period, the Nashville, TN area had the highest median rent at $1,528 per month and highest median monthly income at $4,777 out of 10 Tennessee metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was second highest in Tennessee.

Renter income and rent, Tennessee metro areas (2020–2024)

Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within Tennessee

Renter income and rent, Tennessee metro areas (2020–2024)

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.