Invest In Apartment Buildings In Tennessee

Tennessee's Renter Growth And The Jobs Behind It

Tennessee has 933,708 renter households, 33.1% of occupied homes, in a state of 7,066,383 people (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024). Median gross rent is $1,189 a month against a median household income of $69,595. Rent climbed 36.8% from $869 in the 2015–2019 survey, faster than the 30.5% rise in incomes, and 48.8% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on housing. Renter households grew 6.7% and employment grew 8.1% over the same five years, well ahead of the state's 5.3% population growth.

Growth comes from several directions at once. The state's record 2021 recruiting year brought Ford and SK Innovation's $5.6 billion BlueOval City electric vehicle and battery campus in Haywood County, Oracle's planned $1.2 billion Nashville campus with 8,500 promised jobs, and Ultium Cells' $2.3 billion battery plant in Maury County, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. In Memphis, the Greater Memphis Chamber cited xAI's supercomputer facility and more than 300 high-paying jobs in 2025. Nashville added 12,400 net jobs in 2025, per Yardi Matrix, with Starbucks planning a Southeast corporate office there.

Several of those large projects sit outside the core cities, so apartment demand follows the job sites into counties such as Maury and Haywood. Buyers should check how close a property is to the employer it depends on and how many competing units are going up along the same commute.

Supply, Rents And Landlord Rules In Tennessee

Tennessee's apartment stock has grown quickly. Buildings with five or more units hold 442,739 homes, 14.1% of the housing stock, up 13.6% in five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024). The median home was built in 1987. Census rental vacancy is 6.1%. That counts houses and small rentals, so it runs below broker vacancy for large communities. HUD's FY2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rents range from $995 to $1,798 across 95 HUD areas.

Middle Tennessee carried the heaviest construction. Yardi Matrix data reported by Multi-Housing News shows Nashville deliveries peaked at 14,723 units in 2024 and stayed high at 11,195 in 2025, equal to 8.2% and 5.7% of inventory, more than double the national pace. About 16,700 units were still under construction in spring 2026, and stabilized occupancy was 93.6% in March 2026. Rents softened across the state's big cities: Zumper's reports, carried by WSMV, showed one-bedroom rents in May 2026 down from a year earlier in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis, with Memphis falling the most. For a buyer, this is a market where concessions and lease-up competition matter more than headline rent growth, at least until the pipeline shrinks.

State law is landlord-friendly. Tennessee has no rent control, and landlord guides report that the state prevents cities from creating it. After a 5-day grace period, a landlord can serve a 14-day notice to pay or vacate, and there's no state cap on security deposits. Tennessee repealed its Hall tax on interest and dividends for tax periods starting in 2021, so the state doesn't tax individual investment income. Property tax is set locally, with rates that differ widely between counties and cities, so a buyer should confirm the current assessment and the timing of the county's next reappraisal before closing.

Tennessee Metros And Regions We Watch

Apartment syndications in Tennessee mostly target Middle Tennessee, with Memphis and the eastern metros offering lower rents and different job bases.

Tennessee By The Numbers

We track 47 states where we invest. Tennessee places 25th for median gross rent, 17th for renter share and 11th for five-year rent growth. Its rents fall in the middle of the pack. Put in counts rather than percentages, that is roughly 357,027 more residents, 58,630 more renter households and 53,004 more homes in buildings with 5 or more units than five years earlier. Growth in renter households and new apartment homes has been roughly in balance.

Largest Tennessee Apartment Markets

Nashville is the largest of the 30 Tennessee cities we follow. Here are the ten biggest by population, with median gross rent and renter share from the Census Bureau's ACS 2020–2024 estimates.

Rent Versus Income In Tennessee

At $1,189 a month, the median Tennessee rent adds up to $14,268 a year, or roughly 20.5% of what the median household earns. Under the common 30% guideline, a household needs about $47,600 a year to cover that rent comfortably. Renters usually earn less than the all-household median, so the real burden for tenants is higher than this simple ratio shows.

In dollars, Tennessee rent climbed $320 a month over five years and household income climbed $16,265 a year. Rent has outpaced income, so we are careful about how much further a business plan pushes rents on renewal.

Tennessee Apartment Market Key Facts

Here's the Tennessee rental market in short form, with the source on every figure.

• Tennessee has 7,066,383 residents, up 5.3% from the 2015–2019 survey (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median household income in Tennessee is $69,595, up 30.5% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median gross rent in Tennessee is $1,189 a month, up 36.8% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 33.1% of households in Tennessee rent, about 933,708 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 14.1% of homes in Tennessee are in buildings with 5 or more units (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The rental vacancy rate in Tennessee is 6.1%, and 48.8% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The median home in Tennessee was built in 1987 (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).

What We Look For In Tennessee

In Tennessee we focus on apartment buildings with 5 or more units. Some are stabilized and well run. Others have below-market rents or deferred maintenance that a better operator can fix. Either way, the deal has to make sense on current numbers.

Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, and property taxes are often one of the largest expenses for apartment owners. We estimate the tax bill as it will be after the purchase, because a sale can trigger a reassessment in many places. Tennessee has no statewide rent control law, though local rules on notices, fees and deposits still apply. We get an insurance quote before we make an offer, because premiums have risen in most states.

After a stretch of fast rent growth, we keep rent assumptions modest and leave room for concessions if new supply opens nearby.

Questions To Ask About An Apartment Syndication In Tennessee

The data on this page turns into a short checklist for evaluating an apartment syndication in Tennessee.

• What vacancy does the plan assume? Rental vacancy in Tennessee is 6.1%. A plan that assumes much lower vacancy than the market should explain why.
• What rent growth is underwritten? Rents here rose 36.8% over five years. Ask whether the plan assumes that pace continues, and what happens to the deal if rents stay flat.
• How was the property tax bill estimated? A sale often triggers a reassessment, so the bill after purchase can be well above what the seller pays today.
• How big is the repair reserve? The median home in Tennessee was built in 1987, and even newer buildings need money set aside for roofs, HVAC and appliances.
• How will the building compete with new supply? Homes in 5+ unit buildings in Tennessee rose 13.6% over five years, so newer properties are part of the competition.
• How and when does capital come back? Ask what the plan is for a refinance or sale, and what happens if that takes longer than expected.

How Passive Investing In A Tennessee Apartment Syndication Works

A syndication splits the work from the capital. As general partner, Skyline sources and buys the building, sets the business plan and runs it with a property manager. Limited partners invest money, own part of the property and receive reports, but they don't manage anything day to day.

It's a long-term commitment. The property has to be refinanced or sold before most capital comes back, and the outcome isn't certain. Eligibility rules vary by offering, and most are limited to accredited investors. See investing with Skyline Capital for how we work with limited partners.

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