10 Tennessee Towns Where You Can Still Live On $1,500 a Month in 2026

Tennessee has no state income tax — and right now, ten towns in this state still let you live on $1,500 a month. Not just rent. Housing, utilities, groceries, and money left over. While Nashville rent has hit $1,784 a month, these ten towns have median rents of $800 or less. We ran the numbers on all of them using U.S. Census Bureau data, HUD Fair Market Rents, and local economic sources. Number one is a town that millions of people drive straight through every year on their way to the Smoky Mountains. They never stop. They have no idea what the homes cost. Towns covered: #10 Lawrenceburg (Lawrence County) — $736/mo median rent #9 Union City (Obion County) — $770/mo median rent | $122,700 median home value #8 Martin (Weakley County) — $760/mo | UT Martin university town #7 McMinnville (Warren County) — Nursery Capital of the World #6 Fayetteville (Lincoln County) — Civil War courthouse square #5 Pikeville (Bledsoe County) — Cumberland Plateau #4 Sparta (White County) — Geographic center of Tennessee #3 Morristown (Hamblen County) — City of 65,000 at $838/mo #2 Harriman (Roane County) — I-40 corridor, 45 min from Knoxville #1 Newport (Cocke County) — $141,800 median home value, gateway to the Smoky Mountains Subscribe to InsideTennesseeTV — we publish every week.