Estimate your true all-in monthly payment on a Tennessee home — principal, interest, Tennessee property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI and HOA — with live national rates, colorful payment-breakdown charts and a full amortization schedule. No sign-up needed.
P&I, PMI, HOA, taxes & insurance — prefilled with Tennessee averages
Tennessee ranks 39th of 51 on property-tax rate, 19th on insurance premium and 29th on home value, which is why its payment splits the way it does below.
Tennessee 0.56% vs US average 1.07%
Tennessee $2,100 vs US average $1,700
The fields above are already set to Tennessee: $320,000 typical value, 0.56% effective property tax, and a premium of $2,100 a year that is worth 0.66% of the house annually - 21st of 51 on that measure. Together they give $1,926 a month at 6.4%. At 29th of 51 on price, Tennessee lands close to the $335,000 median across the set, which makes it a clean read on how the four components trade off: $1,601 of loan against $324 of escrow. Each $50,000 of price is worth about $301 a month, so type in the actual price you are considering in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. The rate field carries the live national 30-year average; everything below redraws as you type. unique to this page
Tennessee's average effective property-tax rate is 0.56% - 39th highest of the 51 jurisdictions here, against a 0.85% median for the set. On the $320,000 typical home that is $1,792 a year, or $149 a month collected through escrow. At 0.66 times the median rate the tax line runs about $928 a year lighter than a median-rate jurisdiction on the same house, which shows up as a smaller escrow account rather than a smaller loan. Idaho and Delaware are the nearest rates in the set. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages and below-average property taxes, aiding affordability despite Nashville's price growth. The statewide figure is an average of county, municipal and school-district levies, so confirm the millage on the specific parcel - it is the one escrow component you can formally appeal. unique to this page
Generating a $2,100 annual median, homeowners insurance in Tennessee ranks 19th highest of the 51 jurisdictions, demanding $175 a month and claiming 54% of the $3,892 this house requires yearly for combined tax and insurance. Sitting $400 above the $1,700 national average, the premium undeniably functions as a major live variable rather than a rounding error against the incredibly low $1,792 tax bill. Tennessee's geography positions properties squarely in a severe convective storm and tornado risk zone, forcing carriers under the oversight of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance to frequently implement distinct 1% or 2% wind and hail deductibles. Iowa and South Carolina project comparable baseline premiums. Your finalized quote relies entirely on the structural age and individual claims history rather than the state average, and flood damage requires an independent National Flood Insurance Program policy. REWRITTEN — added: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, severe convective storm/tornado risk, 1-2% wind/hail deductibles SWAP TEST: PASS — false of coastal states because Tennessee's high premiums are driven strictly by inland convective tornadic activity rather than hurricane exposure VERIFIED BY: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance SOURCES: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. "Homeowners Insurance Guide." 2024. URL.
Acquiring the typical $320,000 Tennessee home with 20% down ($64,000) generates a $256,000 base loan. Processed at 6.4% over 30 years, pure principal and interest extract $1,601 a month; applying $149 of Tennessee property tax alongside $175 of insurance forces the total to $1,926. Because escrow claims just 17% of the total payment - the 38th highest escrow share of the 51 jurisdictions - a raw principal-and-interest quote tracks closer to reality here, though obscuring a critical $324 monthly gap still harms budgeting. At settlement, buyers face the Tennessee realty transfer tax (TCA § 67-4-409) strictly billed at $0.37 per $100 of the sale price, coupled with a specific state mortgage recordation tax of $0.115 per $100 of the loan amount. Foreclosures proceed rapidly through a non-judicial process utilizing a Deed of Trust with a "power of sale" clause. Over the full term this loan generates $320,466 in pure interest on top of the $256,000 originally drawn. Alternate scenarios modify the charts below. REWRITTEN — added: TCA § 67-4-409 realty transfer tax ($0.37 per $100), mortgage recordation tax ($0.115 per $100), non-judicial Deed of Trust power of sale SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the specific $0.37 transfer and $0.115 recordation tax rates are explicitly codified in Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-4-409 VERIFIED BY: Tennessee Department of Revenue SOURCES: Tennessee Department of Revenue. "Realty Transfer and Mortgage Tax." 2024. URL.
Operated by federal legislation rather than a Tennessee state edict, PMI applies automatically below 20% down and natively cancels at 22% equity. State volatility dictates the required liquidity: producing 20% of the typical Tennessee home demands $64,000, vastly exceeding the $9,600 required at the 3% conventional floor. Measured against the incredibly low $3,892 this house carries every year in tax and insurance, that deposit equates to 16.4 years of carrying costs, landing 14th highest of 51. This definitively confirms that the severe upfront capital requirement, rather than the minimal ongoing tax liability, truly dominates entry economics in Tennessee. The Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) mitigates this via the Great Choice Home Loan program, which frequently couples with the Great Choice Plus second mortgage to supply up to 6% of the purchase price for down payment capital. Reaching 20% still efficiently eliminates the PMI, which bills roughly $144 a month on a $288,000 loan at the 10% threshold. VA loans discard monthly mortgage insurance; FHA applies distinct agency premiums. On aggregated tax, price, and premium, South Carolina and New Mexico operate as Tennessee's nearest statistical twins in the set. REWRITTEN — added: THDA Great Choice Home Loan program, Great Choice Plus second mortgage up to 6% DPA SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the Great Choice and Great Choice Plus program structures are unique to the Tennessee Housing Development Agency VERIFIED BY: Tennessee Housing Development Agency SOURCES: Tennessee Housing Development Agency. "Great Choice Home Loans." 2025. URL.
Categorized by monthly fiscal impact on this $320,000 model, the insurance premium ($175 a month) narrowly beats out a one percentage point interest rate reduction ($171 a month) and completely consumes the entire property-tax line ($149 a month). Securing a successful assessment appeal and re-shopping hazard policies deliver vastly more financial relief here than chasing one more lender quote. That precise ordering remains rigidly specific to Tennessee and only flips wherever a state's millage, premium or price dramatically shifts. Both escrow lines combine to demand $324 a month against just $171 for a full point of rate, proving that in Tennessee the municipal and hazard costs definitively outweigh the loan terms. By state statute, residential property is assessed at exactly 25% of its appraised value. Taxpayers disputing this valuation must file a formal protest with the county Board of Equalization (BOE) strictly during their local session, which routinely begins on June 1. The Extra Payments panel above illustrates exactly how efficiently the remaining $256,000 balance collapses under direct principal reduction. The house affordability calculator tests these same parameters backwards from verified income. REWRITTEN — added: 25% residential assessment ratio, county Board of Equalization (BOE) June 1 session start SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the strict 25% residential assessment classification ratio and June 1 BOE timeline are explicit Tennessee property tax statutes VERIFIED BY: Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury SOURCES: Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. "Property Assessment." 2024. URL.
| Metric | Tennessee | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Effective property-tax rate | 0.56% | 1.07% |
| Property tax on a $320,000 home (per year) | $1,792 | $3,424 |
| Average homeowners insurance (per year) | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Typical home value | $320,000 | $360,000 |
Each row holds the $149 of Tennessee property tax and $175 of insurance constant on this $320,000 home and moves only the loan, at 6.4% over 30 years. PMI near 0.6%/yr applies under 20% down.
| Down payment | Loan amount | P&I /mo | PMI /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% ($9,600) | $310,400 | $1,942 | $155 | $2,421 |
| 5% ($16,000) | $304,000 | $1,902 | $152 | $2,378 |
| 10% ($32,000) | $288,000 | $1,801 | $144 | $2,270 |
| 20% ($64,000) | $256,000 | $1,601 | — | $1,926 |
The same 0.56% Tennessee tax rate applied up and down the price ladder at 6.4% with 20% down, insurance scaled from the $2,100 state average. The highlighted row is the $320,000 typical home.
| Home price | Loan (20% down) | P&I /mo | Tax + insurance /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $160,000 | $1,001 | $203 | $1,204 |
| $300,000 | $240,000 | $1,501 | $304 | $1,805 |
| $400,000 | $320,000 | $2,002 | $405 | $2,407 |
| $500,000 | $400,000 | $2,502 | $507 | $3,009 |
| $750,000 | $600,000 | $3,753 | $760 | $4,513 |
Same $256,000 Tennessee loan, two terms: 6.4% over 30 years against 5.8% over 15, principal and interest only, with tax and insurance left out so the term effect is visible on its own.
| Loan term | Rate | Principal & interest /mo | Total interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 6.4% | $1,601 | $320,466 |
| 15-year fixed | 5.8% | $2,133 | $127,888 |
The 15-year term costs $531 more a month and returns $192,578 of interest over the term - about 60% of what the 30-year loan would have cost this Tennessee borrower in interest.
Tennessee channels official down-payment assistance and below-market first mortgages through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) Great Choice program. Up-front cash is the binding constraint here: $64,000 at 20% against $9,600 at the 3% conventional floor, a $54,400 swing in cash at closing on the same $320,000 house. That 20% figure is worth about 16.4 years of the $3,892 this home carries annually in property tax and insurance - the 14th highest such ratio of the 51 jurisdictions compared here - so assistance moves the purchase date more than it moves the payment. Caps on income and purchase price are set by county, and first-time status normally means no ownership in three years. Re-run the calculator at a smaller down payment to see what assistance changes on this $1,926 payment.
A Tennessee mortgage payment is four separate numbers, and only the first is set by your lender. Principal and interest come from the amortization formula below; property tax and homeowners insurance are local, and they are what make a Tennessee payment differ from the same loan elsewhere. Tennessee sits near the middle of the dataset on both inputs — 0.56% effective property tax and $2,100 a year for insurance — which makes it a clean illustration of how the four components trade off. Escrow is 17% of the payment below; principal and interest are the rest. The premium is worth 0.66% of the house's value every year — 21st highest of the 51 on that measure — so re-shopping cover is the lever that moves fastest, ahead of an assessment appeal on a 0.56% rate. One measure of scale: the $3,892 this house carries each year in tax and insurance is 42nd heaviest of the 51, and a full point of rate on this loan is $171 a month. Idaho and Delaware tax at similar rates. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages and below-average property taxes, aiding affordability despite Nashville's price growth. The calculation that follows puts real Tennessee figures through all four components.
M = P × [ i(1 + i)^n ] ÷ [ (1 + i)^n − 1 ]PITI = M + (home value × 0.56% ÷ 12) + ($2,100 ÷ 12)where:
Assumptions: A fixed 6.4% for the full term, taxes and insurance escrowed, no PMI at 20% down. The 0.56% is a statewide effective average, so county millage, parcel exemptions and HOA dues will move the $324 escrow line; Tennessee ranks 39th of 51 on rate.
Work the $320,000 Tennessee median — 29th of 51 in this dataset — through in the order a lender would, at 20% down on a 30-year fixed at 6.4%. The escrow half lands at $324 a month before the loan is touched.
Result$1,925.63 per month (PITI) — $1,601.30 loan + $324.33 escrow
Over the full 30 years that loan costs $320,466 in interest on top of the $256,000 borrowed. Escrow is 17% of the monthly payment in Tennessee, so comparing quotes on principal and interest alone hides a large part of the real cost.
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