Living in Tullahoma, TN

Coffee County

Tullahoma sits in Coffee County, Middle Tennessee, and carries a genuinely unique economic identity in this dataset: it is home to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) at Arnold Air Force Base, confirmed via the base's own official fact sheet as the largest and most advanced complex of flight-simulation test facilities in the world -- 68 wind tunnels and specialized test units, a replacement value exceeding $11.9 billion, and the ability to simulate flight conditions from sea level to space and from subsonic speeds past Mach 20. AEDC is Coffee County's largest single employer, with nearly 2,850 personnel as of FY2025 (overwhelmingly civilian contractors rather than active-duty military) and an economic impact exceeding $1.2 billion that fiscal year, up from $1.1 billion in FY2024 and $864 million in FY2021 -- a real, documented, and growing economic anchor. Housing runs genuinely affordable, though sources disagreed sharply on the exact figure this session -- a real, disclosed range from $195,649 to $379,250 depending on methodology and snapshot, with every figure at or below the national median. Tullahoma's own combined city+county property tax rate ($5.0124 per $100 assessed value) is the highest in Coffee County, with a $1,258 median annual bill. Crime data reads differently by source: NeighborhoodScout frames Tullahoma's overall rate as 'considerably higher than the national average' and higher than 83% of Tennessee cities, while CrimeGrade's B overall letter grade reads more favorably even though its own violent-crime rate closely matches NeighborhoodScout's -- disclosed rather than resolved to one number. Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital, a 135-bed acute-care facility with an 87% patient-recommend rate per U.S. News, gives residents real in-city hospital access. Tullahoma sits within Middle Tennessee's severe-thunderstorm and tornado corridor (sometimes called 'Dixie Alley'), with 107 tornadoes recorded within 25 miles since 1950, including a historic first-ever December tornado in Coffee County history in 2021 -- not a hurricane or coastal hazard profile. Demographically, Tullahoma's own age data -- a median age of 38.3 and a 65-plus population share of 19.1%, above the national-average band -- supports this record's `retiring` topic, even though that sits in real, disclosed tension with AEDC's own working-age, contractor-heavy employment base.

Explore Tullahoma in depth

• Moving to Tullahoma: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Tullahoma
• Housing in Tullahoma
• Taxes & Insurance in Tullahoma
• Climate in Tullahoma
• Schools & Families in Tullahoma
• Healthcare & Safety in Tullahoma
• Pros and Cons of Living in Tullahoma
• Retiring in Tullahoma

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Aerospace, defense, and engineering professionals and contractors specifically drawn to AEDC -- a genuinely unique, world-class flight-simulation testing employer unlike any other market in this dataset; retirees and fixed-income movers drawn to genuine affordability, no state income tax, and a data-backed above-national-average senior population share; small-town-living buyers wanting a real, sourced, low cost of living without sacrificing hospital access.

Maybe not for you if: Buyers wanting a single, confidently precise median home price should note the genuinely wide, disclosed spread found across sources this session ($195,649-$379,250) -- pull a current listing-based figure rather than relying on any one number here. Those most focused on the most favorable available crime read should weigh NeighborhoodScout's more cautionary 'higher than 83% of Tennessee cities' framing directly, even though CrimeGrade's letter grade reads more favorably on largely the same underlying violent-crime numbers. Buyers who weight top-tier school rankings heavily should look elsewhere -- Tullahoma High School (#80 in Tennessee) and the district as a whole (#37) run solidly mid-pack, not top-10.