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Towns / Tennessee

Crossville, Tennessee

Crossville is a small town of about 13,100 people in Cumberland County, Tennessee. It's the county seat. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Knoxville, is about 60 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
13,113
up 8.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$246,300
Cumberland County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$48,802
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Tennessee
84.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Cumberland Medical Center
To Knoxville
60 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Tennessee outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood65 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 6 elementary and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byCumberland Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 60 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Crossville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$246,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Cumberland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$815 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,802U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$857 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
84.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Tennessee outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Tennessee outside metro areas, not Crossville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
13,1132020: 12,091
Median age
39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (15%); retail (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cumberland Medical Center, Crossville, TN, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

9 public schools in Crossville, run by Cumberland County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
26°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
84 a year
Rain and melted snow
62.6 inches a year
Snow
14 inches a year
Elevation
1,833 feet

Weather stations: Crossville Mem Ap (3 miles away) and Crossville Ed & Research (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Cleveland, Knoxville.

Cumberland County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Cumberland Homesteads Historic District and the Cumberland Mountain School.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Obed Wild and Scenic River9 miles
  • Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area29 miles
  • Manhattan Project National Historical Park35 miles

Read about Crossville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Crossville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Bowman, TN (unincorporated)422 people, 8 miles
  • Crab Orchard, TN740 people, 9 miles
  • Pleasant Hill, TN542 people, 10 miles
  • Mayland, TN (unincorporated)365 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.