What it's like to live in Bartlett
Bartlett is a smaller city in Tennessee with unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Bartlett deals with rent well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, hot summers, and above-average rainfall.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Air quality concerns
- Hot summers
- Above-average rainfall
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Bartlett compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Bartlett
Based on Bartlett's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,276
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $65,520 a year
- 39% of Bartlett renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$62,080
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $31,040
- Homes cost 3.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 16% above US
$1,638/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,638 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $310,400. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $310,400 · 39% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 19% below US
3.5% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.5%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 20% below US
262 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1178/100k · Bartlett Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
24 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 24.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 11% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 90°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 32°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 1.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforceNear US average
36% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 36% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
10 public schools inside the boundary
There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail (57 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Bartlett's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,638/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. Whether it fits comes down to the specifics: the neighborhood, the job, and what matters most in the move.
Other places near Bartlett
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