Invest In Apartment Buildings In Clarksville, TN

Fort Campbell And Factories Fill Clarksville Rentals

Clarksville has one of the fastest-growing renter bases in Tennessee. The city has 30,149 renter households, 44.4% of all households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024), against 33.1% statewide, and that count rose 14.1% in five years. Population grew 15.4% to 176,456, and the number of employed residents jumped 21.0%. Median gross rent is $1,307 a month, above the state median of $1,189, after a 36.0% rise from $961 in the 2015–2019 survey. Median household income rose 29.3% to $69,303, and 47.7% of renters spend 30% or more of income on housing.

Fort Campbell is the reason the renter share runs so high. The post, home of the 101st Airborne Division, counted 27,937 active-duty soldiers, 6,573 civilian workers and 51,993 family members in a September 2022 command briefing to Kentucky legislators, and it supports a total population of about 242,694 people once retirees are included. The same briefing listed only 4,457 privatized family homes on post, so many military households rent in Clarksville. Soldier pay alone came to about $1.73 billion in fiscal 2022. Military families move on orders, which means steady turnover but also a constant flow of new renters with housing allowances.

Manufacturing has broadened the base since the late 2010s. LG Electronics opened its $360 million washing machine plant in May 2019 on 310 acres and had more than 700 workers by that September, and Hankook Tire announced an $800 million tire plant in 2017 with more than 1,000 jobs, ClarksvilleNow reported. Hankook went bigger in August 2022, announcing a $1.6 billion second and third phase that doubles passenger and light-truck tire output and adds its first U.S. line for truck and bus radials. The company said the work would create about 1,200 jobs and lift the plant from roughly 950 workers to about 2,200, with full capacity targeted for early 2026. The Nashville Area Chamber also lists Amazon and Trane among the county's major employers, and Austin Peay State University adds students and staff. Montgomery County grew from 200,182 people in 2016 to 249,935 in 2025, a 24.85% gain, per the chamber.

New Supply And Rents In Clarksville

Clarksville keeps adding apartments to catch up with that growth, mostly as suburban garden communities with some downtown infill. The Regional Planning Commission approved The Villas at Old Mill, about 324 units in 15 buildings off Fort Campbell Boulevard, in April 2024. In July 2026, Singletary Construction submitted plans for The Willow at Madison, 174 apartments in three- and four-story buildings off Madison Street. Downtown has seen smaller proposals, such as a 72-unit, five-story building on Riverside Drive in early 2024.

Clarksville has 10,282 homes in buildings with five or more units, only 14.2% of its housing, and that count rose 9.5% in five years, slower than the 14.1% growth in renter households. The rest of the renter base lives in houses, duplexes and townhomes, which compete directly with apartments for military families. The median home was built in 1997, so the stock is relatively young. The Census rental vacancy rate is 5.3%, a balanced reading that covers every kind of rental and averages 2020 to 2024. Public broker data on Clarksville apartments alone is thin, so buyers should rely on property-level rent comps and occupancy history.

For apartment syndications in Clarksville, the demand case rests on Fort Campbell and the newer plants, and the risk sits in deployment cycles, any change in troop levels and the single-family rentals that compete for the same tenants. A buyer should look at the share of military tenants, distance to Fort Campbell's gates, and how many approved complexes nearby are still to deliver.

Deployments are a live issue in 2026. In June, the Army said Fort Campbell's 1st Mobile Brigade would rotate to the southern U.S. border to replace a 1st Armored Division brigade, and the 101st Airborne Division headquarters would be relieved by the 1st Armored Division headquarters from Fort Bliss, WSMV reported. A rotation can change who renews and when, so check lease dates and military-clause exposure in any rent roll. State law limits one kind of risk: Tenn. Code Ann. 66-35-102 bars local governments from passing or enforcing ordinances that cap what landlords charge for private rental housing, so Clarksville and Montgomery County can't adopt rent control.

Clarksville Areas We Watch

Clarksville's apartment demand splits between the corridors that serve Fort Campbell and the older center around downtown.

Where Clarksville Stands Among Its Peers

We track 30 Tennessee cities. Clarksville places 15th for median gross rent, 12th for renter share and 15th for five-year rent growth. Its rents fall in the middle of the pack. Compared with the 2015–2019 survey, Clarksville now has about 23,522 more residents, 3,726 more renter households and 892 more homes in buildings with 5 or more units. Renter households grew by about 4.2 for every new home in a larger apartment building. Not every renter lives in an apartment, but demand has clearly kept ahead of new multifamily supply.

Clarksville Compared With Tennessee

Clarksville's median gross rent of $1,307 is above the Tennessee median of $1,189, and its renter share is 44.4% compared with 33.1% statewide.

Clarksville Rent Affordability In Dollars

The median rent in Clarksville works out to $15,684 a year, about 22.6% of the median household income of $69,303. Under the common 30% guideline, a household needs about $52,300 a year to cover that rent comfortably. That's a heavier load than the Tennessee average of 20.5%. Renters usually earn less than the all-household median, so the real burden for tenants is higher than this simple ratio shows.

Since the 2015–2019 survey, the median rent rose $346 a month ($4,152 a year), while median household income rose $15,704 a year. Rent has outpaced income, so we are careful about how much further a business plan pushes rents on renewal.

Clarksville Apartment Market Key Facts

These are the core numbers for Clarksville, TN, each from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

• Clarksville, TN has 176,456 residents, up 15.4% from the 2015–2019 survey (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median household income in Clarksville, TN is $69,303, up 29.3% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median gross rent in Clarksville, TN is $1,307 a month, up 36% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 44.4% of households in Clarksville, TN rent, about 30,149 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 14.2% of homes in Clarksville, TN are in buildings with 5 or more units (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The rental vacancy rate in Clarksville, TN is 5.3%, and 47.7% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The median home in Clarksville, TN was built in 1997 (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).

What We Look For In A Clarksville Apartment Building

Skyline buys 5+ unit apartment buildings in Clarksville that either run well today or can run better with new management or renovation. We start with rents, occupancy and the condition of the building, and we price on what the property earns now.

Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, and property taxes are often one of the largest expenses for apartment owners. We underwrite the tax bill after purchase, not the seller's current bill, since a sale often resets the assessment. 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.

Given how fast rents rose here, we assume much slower rent growth going forward and make sure the deal still works if rents stay flat for a while.

Due Diligence For Apartment Syndications In Clarksville

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

• What vacancy does the plan assume? Rental vacancy in Clarksville is 5.3%. A plan that assumes much lower vacancy than the market should explain why.
• What rent growth is underwritten? Rents here rose 36% 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 Clarksville was built in 1997, and even newer buildings need money set aside for roofs, HVAC and appliances.
• 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 Clarksville Apartment Syndication Works

In an apartment syndication, Skyline acts as the general partner. We find the Clarksville property, negotiate the purchase, arrange the loan and oversee management and any renovation. Limited partners put in capital and own a share of the entity that owns the building. They don't sign on the loan or deal with tenants and repairs.

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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