Retirement Lists

Clarksville, Tennessee

Downtown Clarksville Tennessee
Photo by GatewayPolitics via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall fit
Strong3.8 / 5
Care access
Very Good
Safety
Good2.9 / 5
Climate
Good2.6 / 5
Daily life
1.7 / 5 · Moderate

Is Clarksville a good place to retire?

Clarksville is a rapidly growing Tennessee city with 188,829 residents estimated in 2025, 9.6% of residents age 65 or older in the current Census display, and a broad municipal parks system. Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital provides a local emergency and inpatient-care anchor.

Growth, traffic, flood exposure, and a large city footprint matter as much as the headline cost. Compare the actual home for taxes, insurance, drainage, transit access, care routes, and the distance to the parks and services that would make the week satisfying.

What it may cost

Start with the local estimate. Traveler and couple budgets show how the monthly total can change.

Local monthly estimate

$3,009

Traveler estimate
$4,280
Couple estimate
$4,355
Typical 1BR rent
$1,049
Cost pressure
Good
Check your budget

Everyday life

Family visits should be relatively easy to arrange. The age mix includes a smaller 50+ community.

23%

Residents age 50+

Walkability
Moderate1.7 / 5A car will likely make everyday errands easier.
Median broadband
345 MbpsPlenty for video calls and streaming.
Family visits
Easy weekend visit
Explore daily life

Clarksville, Tennessee, in focus

Choose a Clarksville home around care, flood exposure, and the trips you will repeat

A large city needs an address-level retirement plan

Census QuickFacts counts 166,722 residents in the 2020 Census and estimates 188,829 in July 2025. The city covers 99.40 square miles, so a citywide amenity list does not tell you whether a particular home is near care, groceries, parks, or transit.

Clarksville's 2020-2024 Census display shows 9.6% of residents age 65 and over, a 27.0-minute mean commute, and 93.7% household broadband coverage. Those figures describe the city, not a retiree's daily experience or a neighborhood's connectivity.

Housing benchmarks need the complete carrying cost

For 2020 through 2024, Census estimates place Clarksville's median owner-occupied home value at $263,600, median gross rent at $1,307, and median selected owner costs at $1,541 with a mortgage and $480 without one. Median household income was $69,303 in 2024 dollars.

These are citywide benchmarks rather than current quotes. Add taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, transportation, healthcare, prescriptions, and any flood coverage to the actual address before deciding that a home fits a fixed income.

Getting the care you need

The care picture looks very good as a starting point. Country-level life expectancy is about 78.9 years.

2

Hospitals nearby

Healthcare access
Very Good
Country life expectancy
About 78.9 years
Primary care
Good
Pharmacy access
Very Good
Explore healthcare

Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital provides a substantial local care anchor

Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital lists emergency care, a Primary Stroke Center, critical and intensive care, imaging and laboratory services, cardiac rehabilitation, oncology, neurology, nephrology, orthopedics, surgery, and rehabilitation.

The hospital listing supports local emergency and hospital access, not a guarantee of short waits, every specialty, a particular insurance network, or a specific referral path. Confirm physicians, Medicare plan participation, pharmacy access, therapy, home health, and regional referrals from the proposed home.

Understanding safety

Property crime looks better; violent crime is the part to examine more closely.

Overall safety

Good

2.9 / 5

Violent crime
Good
Property crime
Very Good
Explore safety

Police reporting and flood guidance belong in the same address review

Clarksville's 2025 annual report includes year-over-year crime and arrest reporting and says the city's overall crime rate has continued to decline as the population grows. The report is an agency source, not a complete neighborhood comparison or a personal safety guarantee.

The city provides flood-insurance and flood-mitigation information, and its planning documents identify the Cumberland River and Montgomery County hazard-mitigation planning as relevant to Clarksville. Review the exact parcel, drainage, roads, insurance, power, and emergency access.

Living through the seasons

Summers are the easier season. Winter comfort deserves a closer look.

Overall climate comfort

Good2.6 / 5

Summer

87°F

Average high

34 days/year above 90°F

3.4 / 5 · Very Good

Winter

31°F

Average low

73 days/year below freezing

1.9 / 5 · Moderate

Air quality

Excellent

4.7 / 5

Explore climate

Warm seasons and storm exposure require a practical home review

NOAA's Clarksville Outlaw Airport station is at 36.61689 degrees north and 87.41174 degrees west, with a listed record from January 2005 through August 2025. The local station provides an observation reference, while the NCEI normals program explains that 1991-2020 normals are long-run station averages.

The cited Clarksville sources do not establish a complete city-boundary 1991-2020 normal set here. Use the station and local flood guidance as planning inputs, then review heat, humidity, heavy rain, tornado readiness, drainage, cooling, backup power, and safe routes at the actual home.

Retirement fit

Clarksville, strengths and tradeoffs

Care, costs, seasons, and local character can suit some retirees better than others.

Pros

  • The city has a local hospital with emergency, stroke, intensive, imaging, surgical, oncology, and rehabilitation services.
  • Parks and Recreation reports 1,000 acres, 21 parks, three public pools, and three recreation centers with year-round programming.
  • Clarksville Transit System publishes fixed-route service and a paratransit contact.

Tradeoffs

  • The city is geographically large and still growing, so daily distances and traffic vary by address.
  • Flood, heavy-rain, tornado, drainage, insurance, and power questions are material for some homes.
  • The current age profile is younger than many traditional retirement destinations.

A few days in Clarksville

Spend time with ordinary parts of the city as well as its better known places.

  1. Day 1

    Map the care route

    Use the proposed home, Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital, pharmacy, primary care, groceries, and family route and note traffic, parking, weather, and return energy.

  2. Day 2

    Read the flood file

    Check FEMA and city flood information, drainage, elevation, insurance, road access, utilities, power, and any past water entry for the address.

  3. Day 3

    Try the transit option

    Confirm the Clarksville Transit System route, stop, hours, fare, paratransit eligibility, final walk, and evening and Sunday alternatives.

  4. Day 4

    Use the parks in real life

    Visit a park, trail, recreation center, history site, grocery, and home during the season and hours you expect to live there.

Questions worth asking before you retire in Clarksville

Is Clarksville affordable for retirees?

Census benchmarks show a $263,600 median owner value and $1,307 median gross rent for 2020-2024. Taxes, insurance, flood coverage, utilities, care, transportation, and repairs still need to be priced for the actual home.

Does Clarksville have a local hospital?

Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital lists emergency, stroke, intensive, imaging, laboratory, surgical, oncology, orthopedic, rehabilitation, and other services. Confirm the doctors, plan network, waits, and referral route you need.

Does Clarksville have flood risk?

The city publishes flood-insurance and flood-mitigation information and identifies historically flood-prone and low-lying areas. Review the exact parcel and road rather than applying one citywide label.

Can transit replace a car?

Clarksville Transit System publishes routes and route hours, but coverage, final walks, paratransit eligibility, weather, and service outside the published window must be checked from the proposed home.

Could this place work for you?

Clarksville may suit a retiree who wants a growing city, local hospital care, organized recreation, and a broader service base. Choose the home around the actual care, grocery, transit, flood, traffic, and family routes rather than the citywide inventory alone.

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Sources

These sources list the public figures used for Clarksville. Local context links describe its parks, food, culture, history, and other place specific details.

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