Rank

1084of 3,144

DeKalb, Tennessee

Score 6.55 / 10· population 21,225

Smithville, the DeKalb County seat, is 60 miles from Nashville and 8 miles from Interstate 40, and it draws its water from Center Hill Lake, which has eight marinas in the county. More than a quarter of working residents hold factory jobs, many at plants making exhaust systems and brake linings. Outside the towns there is no county zoning, and the certified 2026 county property tax rate is about $1.56 per $100 of assessed value.

Sources
  • Smithville is the DeKalb County seat, 60 miles from Nashville, nearest interstate I-40 at 8 miles; the City of Smithville's water source is Center Hill Lake; the county has 8 marinas dekalbtennessee.com
  • Manufacturing employed 26.4% of the employed population in 2023; major manufacturers include Tenneco (car exhaust systems) and Tenneco Braking (brake linings); zoning regulations: city yes, county no dekalbtennessee.com
  • The final certified DeKalb County property tax rate is $1.5571 per $100 of assessed value (June 2026) wjle.com
  • The prior year's county rate was $2.51 per $100 of assessed value, before reappraisal wjle.com

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values

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Eleven factors

Government behavior

  1. Fraser Institute state ranking (state)8.3
  2. 2A (state)10.0
  3. GOP + LP vote for President8.1
  4. Sales tax1.1
  5. Property tax8.3

Environment

  1. Air quality6.4
  2. Floods / hurricanes5.2

Private behavior

  1. Homicide rate7.6
  2. Life expectancy2.5
  3. Government employees1.3
  4. Single-parent households5.9

Neighbors