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Towns / Tennessee

Tusculum, Tennessee

Tusculum is a college town of about 3,400 people in Greene County, Tennessee. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 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 69 miles away as the crow flies.

College town

Population
3,421
up 3.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$267,500
Greene County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$70,694
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Tennessee
84.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Greeneville, TN
To Knoxville
69 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 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byGreeneville Community Hospital in Greeneville, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 69 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 Tusculum 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.

What kind of town

College town. About 1 in 4 residents is a college student, with Tusculum University in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$267,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Greene County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$841 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$70,694U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
88%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,060 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 Tusculum 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
3,4212020: 3,294
Median age
33.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
27%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
Schools, health care and social services (40%); retail (14%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Greeneville Community Hospital, Greeneville, TN, about 3 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

3 public schools in Tusculum, run by Greene County.

Colleges in or next to town: Tusculum University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
75%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
32 a year
Nights at or below freezing
113 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.4 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
1,457 feet

Weather station: Greeneville Exp Stn (7 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

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: Greeneville Community Hospital, Johnson City, Knoxville.

Greene 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Tusculum College Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Andrew Johnson National Historic Site5 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park33 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway37 miles
  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park50 miles

Campus life. Check Tusculum University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Tusculum's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tusculum?

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

  • Baileyton, TN464 people, 11 miles
  • Telford, TN (unincorporated)731 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.