Living in Waynesboro, 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Waynesboro to say.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byWayne Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNashville is about 80 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 Waynesboro 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: $79,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Wayne County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them: 58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $582 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 4%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Tennessee outside metro areas, not Waynesboro 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: 2,3192020: 2,312
Median age: 46.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 12%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%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 (37%); government (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Work from home: 11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wayne Medical Center, Waynesboro, TN, in town. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, TN, about 25 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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 Waynesboro, run by Wayne 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 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: 27°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 39 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 99 a year
Rain and melted snow: 61.8 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 714 feet

Weather station: Waynesboro (1 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

Columbia, TNCity of 50,00045

Nashville, TNMetro of 2.2 million80

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: Columbia, Nashville.

Wayne 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Natchez Trace Parkway7 miles
Shiloh National Military Park33 miles

Read about Waynesboro's history on Wikipedia.

Know Waynesboro?

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

Clifton, TN2,300 people, 14 miles
Hohenwald, TN4,200 people, 20 miles
Linden, TN1,200 people, 21 miles
Lawrenceburg, TN12,200 people, 25 miles
Loretto, TN1,800 people, 25 miles
Savannah, TN7,700 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Collinwood, TN919 people, 10 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.