Property Taxes in Tennessee

Effective Rate

Tennessee's average effective property tax rate is approximately 0.50%–0.55% of assessed home value, according to the Tax Foundation, WalletHub, and TaxByCounty data for 2026. This is roughly half the national average effective rate (commonly cited around 0.90%–0.99% depending on source methodology). WalletHub's 2026 tax burden analysis ranks Tennessee as having the third-lowest property tax burden in the country. Rates vary meaningfully by county — of Tennessee's 95 counties, about 30 have effective rates above the state median and 65 fall below it, so urban counties (e.g., Davidson/Nashville, Shelby/Memphis) tend to run higher than rural counties. Tennessee has no state income tax, which is part of why it's frequently cited as one of the most tax-friendly states overall.

Example: Estimates of Tennessee's median annual property tax bill vary by source and methodology (which years of assessment/home-value data are used), landing in a range of roughly $1,000–$1,400. The Tax Foundation-cited figure often used for 2026 is a median annual bill of about $1,400 on a median home value of roughly $256,800 (effective rate ~0.55%). Other aggregators report a median around $1,016–$1,126 (calculated across all 95 counties using older home-value baselines), which is roughly $1,200+ lower than the U.S. median property tax bill (commonly cited near $2,400–$2,700). Bottom line for messaging: cite the ~$1,000–$1,400/year range and note Tennessee is among the bottom 10 states nationally for median property tax paid.

Exemptions