PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Clarksville, TN-KY

39.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#330
of 387 metros
15%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Clarksville ranks #330 of 387 US metros, ahead of 15% - carried by its cost of living (70/100) and held back most by safety (4/100).

70
strongest: Cost of Living
69
then: Childcare
4
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Clarksville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 15th percentile higher than 15% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Clarksville Life Score

Clarksville's composite score of 39.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #330 of 387, ahead of 15% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (70/100) and Childcare (69/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (4/100) and Environment (18/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 90.9 (rent-RPP 73.8). BLS median salary $58,587, 95,950 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,346/mo (studio $1,090).

FBI UCR (TN): 602 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 15.3:1 ratio, 6.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,860/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (TN). Ranks #327-#333 below.

Dimension detail

How Clarksville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 70/100 (20%)
Wages 23/100 (20%)
Rent 45/100 (15%)
Safety 4/100 (15%)
Schools 50/100 (10%)
Childcare 69/100 (10%)
Environment 18/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,587
Avg Median Salary
$1,346
2BR Fair Market Rent
602
Violent Crime/100K (TN)
15.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,860
Infant Childcare/yr (TN)
26
Superfund Sites (TN)
95,950
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Clarksville With...

Clarksville vs Kingsport Compare → Clarksville vs Morristown Compare → Clarksville vs Memphis Compare → Clarksville vs Wildwood Compare → Clarksville vs Waterloo Compare → Clarksville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Clarksville outranks 15% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#327 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 39.7 C-
#328 Manchester-Nashua, NH 39.8 C-
#329 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 39.8 C-
#330 Clarksville, TN-KY 39.6 C-
#331 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 39.6 C-
#332 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.6 C-
#333 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 39.6 C-

TN Metro Scores

Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Morristown, TN B- 49.3 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jackson, TN C+ 47.3 Johnson City, TN C+ 47.1 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN C 42.5

Using Clarksville's Life Score

Clarksville is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (70/100) and its weakest is safety (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Clarksville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Clarksville lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Clarksville's biggest strengths? ▼
Clarksville's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (70/100), Childcare (69/100), Schools (50/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Clarksville's weakest areas? ▼
Clarksville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (4/100), Environment (18/100), Wages (23/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Clarksville compared to the national average? ▼
Clarksville's Regional Price Parity is 90.9 (9.1% less than national); rent RPP 73.8.
What is the average salary in Clarksville? ▼
Clarksville median salary: $58,587, 95,950 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Clarksville's 39.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.