Living in Selmer, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

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 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood28 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 20.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
A hospital close byMagnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 78 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 Selmer 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: $155,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%McNairy County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $674 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $51,591U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $735 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Tennessee outside metro areas, not Selmer 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: 4,5752020: 4,473
Median age: 39.6 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: 15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 1%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: Manufacturing (31%); schools, health care and social services (28%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Magnolia Regional Health Center, Corinth, MS, about 16 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

4 public schools in Selmer, run by McNairy 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: 68%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: 30°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 59 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 74 a year
Rain and melted snow: 59.1 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 444 feet

Weather station: Selmer (less than a mile 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

Magnolia Regional Health CenterEmergency room16

Jackson, TNCity of 69,00036

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million78

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: Magnolia Regional Health Center, Jackson, Memphis.

McNairy County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, 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:

Shiloh National Military Park12 miles
Natchez Trace Parkway42 miles
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site46 miles

Read about Selmer's history on Wikipedia.

Know Selmer?

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

Adamsville, TN2,100 people, 13 miles
Corinth, MS14,300 people, 16 miles
Farmington, MS2,000 people, 19 miles
Henderson, TN6,600 people, 19 miles
Savannah, TN7,700 people, 21 miles
Bolivar, TN5,000 people, 24 miles

Smaller places

Bethel Springs, TN756 people, 5 miles
Eastview, TN775 people, 6 miles
Ramer, TN327 people, 7 miles
Stantonville, TN343 people, 9 miles
Chewalla, TN (unincorporated)150 people, 11 miles
Guys, TN420 people, 11 miles
Michie, TN669 people, 12 miles
Finger, TN279 people, 13 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.