City · Robertson County, Tennessee

Cross Plains, Tennessee

Cross Plains is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, part of the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metro area. It has 1,922 residents. Cross Plains, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,856 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #139 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), depression (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,856 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #139 of 305 in TN
Population: 1,922 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 221.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4718420

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety42#9,031/15,637
Economy66#5,256/15,631
Housing62#5,742/14,977
Health15#13,228/15,609
Healthcare20#12,546/15,650
Environment47#8,147/15,453
Education18#12,844/15,649
Infrastructure34#10,380/15,650
Community30#10,959/15,651
Leisure & amenities10#14,015/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cross Plains, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Robertson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.38%
95/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child care cost burden · low20.5%
93/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRobertson County value
Poverty rate · low3.8%
89/100Tennessee 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRobertson County value
Property crime rate · low565 /100k
86/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationRobertson County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.367
84/100Tennessee 0.476United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.1 /10k
1/100Tennessee 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesRobertson County value
Depression · high29.8%
4/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · high114 mi
8/100Tennessee 93 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRobertson County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.9 /10k
9/100Tennessee 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRobertson County value
Mental health providers · low79 /100k
11/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRobertson County value
Injury deaths · high126 /100k
11/100Tennessee 122 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRobertson County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,801 (2015-2019) → 1,922 (2020-2024)
+6.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
6.8 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−92%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
26.7% (2015-2019) → 40.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
13.1% (2015-2019) → 18.9% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.1% (2015-2019) → 90.7% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cross Plains, Tennessee improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Bachelor's++5.8 points13.1% → 18.9%
Household income+21%$63,107 → $76,319

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Cross Plains, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.1 min2015-2019	34.1 min2020-2024	+2.9 min	Within the margin of error	20%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.1%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Improved	73%
Broadband subscriptions	85.1%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.38%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	80%
High school diploma or higher	89.5%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3322015-2019	0.3672020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$63,1072015-2019	$76,3192020-2024	+21%	Improved	35%
Poverty rate	5.7%2015-2019	3.9%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.7%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Unemployment rate	5.8%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.3%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cross Plains, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cross Plains, Tennessee in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cross Plains, Tennessee itself moved −5.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,922 residents (±506)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

719 households (±154)

Cross Plains, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k5.1%†37
$25k–50k19%†139
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

719 households (±154)

Cross Plains, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own83%597
Rent17%†122

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,006 workers (±265)

Cross Plains, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone84%847
Carpool9.5%†96
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Robertson County, the county holding most of Cross Plains's residents.

Robertson County has 1,358 employer establishments, 176 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Tennessee's), with 21,552 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,251. The Census Bureau also counts 7,186 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,358; 7,186 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 176; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 21,552
Average annual pay: $52,251; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Robertson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	142	18.5	1.19×About typical	1,164	$65,820	783
Restaurants and other eating places	117	15.2	0.83×About typical	2,119	$20,586	33
Ambulatory health care services	94	12.2	0.59×Fewer than typical	912	$61,849	200
Religious organizations	68	8.8	1.59×More than typical	374	$22,829	—
Limited-service restaurants	57	7.4	0.92×About typical	1,165	$17,025	10
Construction of buildings	56	7.3	0.96×About typical	190	$58,563	321
Building equipment contractors	54	7	1.17×About typical	462	$70,794	154
Full-service restaurants	46	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	796	$26,995	17
Lessors of real estate	42	5.5	0.44×Fewer than typical	107	$62,598	545
Services to buildings and dwellings	42	5.5	0.81×About typical	149	$44,034	629
Gasoline stations	40	5.2	1.60×More than typical	359	$30,755	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	37	4.8	1.53×More than typical	415	$68,431	152

Rank places for an industry Open Robertson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 76,948 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cross Plains, Tennessee: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

63.3KFY2018
47.4KFY2019
-22.5KFY2021

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cross Plains, Tennessee, so they do not add up across cities.

Cross Plains, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Robertson County, TN ($127.8K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cross Plains is mostly in Robertson County.

See federal money in Robertson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cross Plains, Tennessee is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Matt Van EppsR-TN-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Robertson County34100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN57

Other cities and towns in Robertson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4718420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends