Invest In Apartment Buildings In Murfreesboro, TN

Why Murfreesboro's Renter Base Keeps Growing

Murfreesboro's renter base has grown fast. Renter households rose 20.6% in five years to 28,900, or 47.6% of all households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024), against 33.1% across Tennessee. Population grew 18.4% to 161,445 and the number of employed residents grew 21.5%. Median gross rent is $1,481 a month, up 40.8% from $1,052 in the 2015–2019 survey and well above the state median of $1,189. Median household income rose 29.2% to $80,108, slower than rent, and 53.2% of renters spend 30% or more of income on housing.

The job base is a mix of manufacturing, distribution, education and health care along Interstate 24. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development lists Nissan North America's Smyrna plant as Rutherford County's largest employer at about 7,400 workers. Murfreesboro itself is home to Amazon at about 2,700, Middle Tennessee State University at about 2,491, Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford at about 2,326 and the VA's Alvin C. York campus at about 1,563, plus the city and both school systems. MTSU enrolled 20,812 students in fall 2025, according to its fact book, and it expected a third straight year of growth in first-time freshmen. The campus keeps building, too: the $74.8 million Applied Engineering Building opened in August 2025, and a five-story, 554-bed residence hall built through a public-private partnership is due in fall 2027. That hall will pull some students out of off-campus complexes. MTSU's January 2026 newsletter also warned that the number of Tennessee high school graduates is starting a multiyear decline, so student demand may flatten.

For owners, this is a commuter and workforce market more than a college town. Many tenants work in Murfreesboro or Smyrna, and some drive the I-24 corridor toward Nashville. Rutherford County grew from 317,157 residents in 2016 to 386,352 in 2025, per the Nashville Area Chamber, and University of Tennessee researchers expect it to pass 400,000 within a couple of years. That growth gives landlords a deep pool of new arrivals, but rent burden above half of renters limits how quickly rents can rise.

Apartment Supply And Rents In Murfreesboro

Murfreesboro built a large amount of apartment space in a short time, and the Census shows it. Homes in buildings with five or more units grew 37.7% in five years to 20,968, now 31.6% of the housing stock, and the median home was built in 2002. The Census rental vacancy rate is 7.3%, high for a growing city and likely a sign that new buildings were still leasing up during the survey years. Across the Nashville metro, Zumper reported 10.8% vacancy in early 2024, the highest in 20 years, and Matthews found that one in three communities had offered concessions the year before.

Conditions have firmed since then. Matthews reported Nashville metro vacancy of 5.40% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 6.21% a quarter earlier, after 6,988 units were completed over the prior 12 months. Its Murfreesboro/Smyrna submarket was tighter, at 4.9%. Metro average effective rent was $1,612, down 0.60% from a year earlier. The Census rate averages the 2020 to 2024 survey years and counts every kind of rental, including houses and small buildings, so it lags a quarterly broker reading of large managed communities.

The pipeline has been uneven. City permit reports show only 52 multifamily units permitted in 2022 and 46 in 2024, with 306 in 2023. In 2025 the total jumped to 540, though that was still below the 600 units of 2021. A planning commissioner told WKRN in 2026 that some projects approved five to seven years earlier were only now starting as interest rates eased.

Rents have started to move again. Apartment List put the Murfreesboro median at $1,408 in October 2026, up 3.8% from a year earlier, a stronger reading than the Matthews figure, which covers the whole metro. HUD's fiscal 2027 two-bedroom fair market rent for the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin area is $1,798. For apartment syndications in Murfreesboro, the case rests on population and job growth catching up with a recent supply wave. Buyers should check the lease-up of nearby communities and whether concessions are still common in the submarket before counting on rent growth.

Murfreesboro Areas We Watch

Most of Murfreesboro's newer apartments sit near I-24 and the city's main job centers.

How Murfreesboro Ranks For Apartment Investors

Out of 30 Tennessee cities in our data, Murfreesboro comes in 12th for median gross rent, 8th for renter share and 10th for five-year rent growth. Its rents fall in the middle of the pack. Compared with the 2015–2019 survey, Murfreesboro now has about 25,079 more residents, 4,936 more renter households and 5,741 more homes in buildings with 5 or more units. Growth in renter households and new apartment homes has been roughly in balance.

Murfreesboro And Nearby Markets Side By Side

Murfreesboro's median gross rent of $1,481 is above the Tennessee median of $1,189, and its renter share is 47.6% compared with 33.1% statewide.

Rent Versus Income In Murfreesboro

The median rent in Murfreesboro works out to $17,772 a year, about 22.2% of the median household income of $80,108. Under the common 30% guideline, a household needs about $59,200 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 $429 a month ($5,148 a year), while median household income rose $18,105 a year. Rent has outpaced income, so we are careful about how much further a business plan pushes rents on renewal. HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit, $1,798, is 21.4% above the median gross rent for all unit sizes. That gap matters for buildings that accept Housing Choice Vouchers, since local housing authorities base voucher payment standards on it.

Murfreesboro Apartment Market Key Facts

If you only read one part of this page, read this list. Every figure is from the Census Bureau's ACS 5-year estimates.

• Murfreesboro, TN has 161,445 residents, up 18.4% from the 2015–2019 survey (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median household income in Murfreesboro, TN is $80,108, up 29.2% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median gross rent in Murfreesboro, TN is $1,481 a month, up 40.8% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 47.6% of households in Murfreesboro, TN rent, about 28,900 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 31.6% of homes in Murfreesboro, TN are in buildings with 5 or more units (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The rental vacancy rate in Murfreesboro, TN is 7.3%, and 53.2% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The median home in Murfreesboro, TN was built in 2002 (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).

What We Look For In A Murfreesboro Apartment Building

Skyline buys 5+ unit apartment buildings in Murfreesboro 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.

Evaluating Apartment Syndications In Murfreesboro

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

• What vacancy does the plan assume? Rental vacancy in Murfreesboro is 7.3%. A plan that assumes much lower vacancy than the market should explain why.
• What rent growth is underwritten? Rents here rose 40.8% 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 Murfreesboro was built in 2002, 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 Murfreesboro rose 37.7% 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 Murfreesboro Apartment Syndication Works

In an apartment syndication, Skyline acts as the general partner. We find the Murfreesboro 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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