Cost of Living & Housing in Greeneville
Greeneville is genuinely affordable by national standards, with no state income tax easing the overall picture -- though a real, disclosed elevated poverty rate and below-national median income mean that affordability partly reflects genuinely lower local incomes, not just lower prices.
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Learn moreHousing Prices -- Genuinely Affordable
Redfin's most recent reading cites a $279,848 median sale price as of June 2026, up a modest 2.8% year over year -- well below national medians. No separate price-per-square-foot or days-on-market figure was independently confirmed for Greeneville specifically this session.
Property Taxes and No State Income Tax
Tennessee levies no state income tax at all, a real, statewide structural advantage. Locally, the City of Greeneville's 2025 tax-year rate is $1.7071 per $100 of assessed value (Tennessee assesses residential property at 25% of appraised value statewide), and Greene County's overall effective property tax rate is cited around 0.43% (computed from a $890 median annual tax bill against a $207,500 median home value) -- a figure that blends city, county, and school components rather than isolating the city rate alone. Confirm a specific parcel's total combined rate directly with the Greene County Trustee.
Sales Tax -- Among the Highest Combined Rates in the Country
This is a real tradeoff against the no-income-tax structure: Greene County's combined sales tax runs 9.75% (7% state + 2.75% county local-option, the maximum allowed under Tennessee law). Tennessee as a whole carries the 2nd-highest average combined state-and-local sales tax rate in the nation (9.61% statewide average), trailing only Louisiana as of 2026.
Overall Cost of Living and Income
One cited cost-of-living index puts Greeneville at 83 (100 = U.S. average) -- 17% below the national average, and roughly 3% above the Tennessee state average per the same source. Median household income is cited between roughly $49,900 and $54,900 depending on source (a real, disclosed spread), both meaningfully below Tennessee's statewide median of $71,997, and the poverty rate is cited between 18.2% and 18.5% across sources -- well above the roughly 12.5% national average. Weigh the low cost of living directly against these income and poverty figures rather than in isolation.
Key takeaways
- Median home sale price is $279,848 (Redfin, June 2026, up 2.8% YoY), genuinely affordable relative to national medians, with a cost-of-living index cited at 17% below the national average.
- Tennessee levies no state income tax, and Greeneville's effective city/county property tax burden runs a modest ~0.43% -- but Greene County's combined 9.75% sales tax sits near the top of the state's statutory maximum, consistent with Tennessee's 2nd-highest-in-the-nation average combined sales tax rate.
- Median household income ($49,900-$54,900 depending on source) runs meaningfully below Tennessee's statewide median, with a real, elevated 18.2%-18.5% poverty rate across sources -- affordability here reflects lower local incomes as much as lower prices.
- No Greeneville-specific homeowners insurance figure was independently confirmed this session; Tennessee statewide averages for 2026 are cited anywhere from roughly $2,700 to $3,400+ per year depending on source and coverage level -- get a local, property-specific quote.
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