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

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