Town · Fayette County, Tennessee

Somerville, Tennessee

Somerville is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. It has 3,466 residents. Somerville, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 7 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,544 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #285 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), property crime rate (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

7Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,544 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #285 of 305 in TN
Population: 3,466 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 255.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4769620

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety32#10,696/15,637
Economy21#12,391/15,631
Housing68#4,747/14,977
Health7#14,442/15,609
Healthcare13#13,630/15,650
Environment23#11,957/15,453
Education7#14,596/15,649
Infrastructure17#13,037/15,650
Community24#11,823/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,393/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Somerville, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Fayette 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 · low0.37%
95/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · low473 /100k
91/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationFayette County value
Child care cost burden · low21.8%
89/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
New homes permitted · high9.8 /1k
88/100Tennessee 5.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Unemployment rate · low1.9%
83/100Tennessee 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low27 /100k
2/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low36.1%
4/100Tennessee 67.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.8 /10k
4/100Tennessee 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFayette County value
Frequent mental distress · high22.3%
4/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Reading scores · low2.61
5/100Tennessee 2.99United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Suicide rate · high27.2 /100k
6/100Tennessee 18.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataFayette County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,238 (2015-2019) → 3,466 (2020-2024)
+7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
56.9% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.5% (2015-2019) → 85.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$24,266 (2015-2019) → $44,310 (2020-2024)
+83%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.7% (2015-2019) → 41.4% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
74.4% (2015-2019) → 90.1% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Somerville, Tennessee improved on 5 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved5

High school++16 points74.4% → 90.1%
Household income+83%$24,266 → $44,310
Child poverty−23 points56.9% → 33.9%
Inequality−0.1140.600 → 0.486
Broadband+19 points66.5% → 85.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Somerville, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.4 min2015-2019	25.6 min2020-2024	+2.2 min	Within the margin of error	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.6%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Broadband subscriptions	66.5%2015-2019	85.8%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Child poverty rate	56.9%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.57%2015-2019	0.37%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
High school diploma or higher	74.4%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	99%
Home price to income ratio	6.8×2015-2019	7.1×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	62%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.6002015-2019	0.4862020-2024	−0.114	Improved	97%
Median household income	$24,2662015-2019	$44,3102020-2024	+83%	Improved	97%
Poverty rate	36.2%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Rent as share of income	32.9%2015-2019	27.0%2020-2024	−5.9 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Rent-burdened households	57.7%2015-2019	41.4%2020-2024	−16 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.5%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Somerville, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Somerville, 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, Somerville, Tennessee itself moved +14.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

3,466 residents (±23)

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

1,242 households (±174)

Somerville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k35%†432
$25k–50k22%†277
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,242 households (±174)

Somerville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own55%689
Rent45%†553

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+12.9 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

1,290 workers (±207)

Somerville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone79%1,022
Carpool9.6%†124
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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

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 Fayette County, the county holding most of Somerville's residents.

Fayette County has 690 employer establishments, 156 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.74× Tennessee's), with 9,386 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,545. The Census Bureau also counts 4,769 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 690; 4,769 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 156; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 9,386
Average annual pay: $55,545; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	81	18.4	1.19×About typical	531	$67,559	407
Building equipment contractors	45	10.2	1.69×More than typical	267	$58,629	105
Religious organizations	42	9.5	1.72×More than typical	236	$21,631	—
Restaurants and other eating places	38	8.6	0.47×Fewer than typical	515	$20,082	20
Ambulatory health care services	34	7.7	0.37×Fewer than typical	281	$48,384	197
Services to buildings and dwellings	31	7	1.04×About typical	2,186	$50,914	519
Construction of buildings	26	5.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	119	$80,874	134
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	24	5.4	1.65×More than typical	158	$67,456	59
Lessors of real estate	23	5.2	0.42×Fewer than typical	52	$50,269	332
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	21	4.8	1.92×More than typical	109	$45,835	41
Limited-service restaurants	21	4.8	0.59×Fewer than typical	347	$19,424	5
Gasoline stations	20	4.5	1.40×More than typical	73	$34,616	—

Rank places for an industry Open Fayette County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 44,130 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Fayette 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.

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

House

David KustoffR-TN-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.7%

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.

Fayette County29100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR15

Other cities and towns in Fayette 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/4769620

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends