Living in Kenton, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.5% below the U.S. average in the Jackson metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Kenton itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Westview High School, about 12 miles away.
A hospital close byVolunteer Community Hospital in Martin, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 92 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 Kenton 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: $111,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Gibson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $704 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $41,525U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $1,000 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.5U.S. average = 100 (the Jackson metro area)

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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Jackson metro area, not Kenton 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: 1,2482020: 1,283
Median age: 39.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%share of all residents

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: Manufacturing (28%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 5%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Volunteer Community Hospital, Martin, TN, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

1 public school in Kenton, run by Gibson Co Sp Dist. The nearest public high school is Westview High School, about 12 miles away.

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: 60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 89%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: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 59 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 82 a year
Rain and melted snow: 54.7 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 322 feet

Weather station: Martin U Of T Branch E (13 miles away). 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

Volunteer Community HospitalEmergency room12

Jackson, TNCity of 69,00039

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million92

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: Volunteer Community Hospital, Jackson, Memphis.

Gibson County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Donelson National Battlefield57 miles

Read about Kenton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kenton?

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

Rutherford, TN1,100 people, 6 miles
Dyer, TN2,300 people, 9 miles
Greenfield, TN2,000 people, 12 miles
Troy, TN1,400 people, 12 miles
Martin, TN11,100 people, 13 miles
Bradford, TN1,000 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

Yorkville, TN228 people, 9 miles
Trimble, TN533 people, 9 miles
Obion, TN958 people, 10 miles
Rives, TN244 people, 11 miles
Sharon, TN919 people, 11 miles

Sources

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.