Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Tennessee
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Tennessee ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sullivan County | 44.0" | Relatively Low | $190,800 |
| 2 | Washington County | 44.0" | Relatively Low | $231,700 |
| 3 | Greene County | 46.4" | Relatively Low | $186,400 |
| 4 | Cocke County | 46.7" | Relatively Low | $141,800 |
| 5 | Unicoi County | 47.0" | Very Low | $168,200 |
| 6 | Johnson County | 47.2" | Very Low | $175,500 |
| 7 | Grainger County | 47.4" | Very Low | $172,000 |
| 8 | Carter County | 48.0" | Relatively Low | $157,200 |
| 9 | Hamblen County | 48.1" | Relatively Low | $188,800 |
| 10 | Jefferson County | 48.5" | Relatively Low | $210,000 |
| 11 | Hancock County | 48.8" | Very Low | $118,000 |
| 12 | Hawkins County | 48.8" | Relatively Low | $166,900 |
| 13 | Davidson County | 50.5" | Relatively High | $386,600 |
| 14 | Benton County | 51.6" | Very Low | $123,400 |
| 15 | Humphreys County | 51.6" | Relatively Low | $186,900 |
| 16 | Blount County | 51.9" | Relatively Low | $275,700 |
| 17 | Knox County | 51.9" | Relatively Moderate | $279,700 |
| 18 | Cheatham County | 52.0" | Relatively Low | $291,400 |
| 19 | Smith County | 52.5" | Very Low | $224,500 |
| 20 | Dyer County | 53.3" | Relatively Moderate | $159,500 |
| 21 | Lake County | 53.3" | Relatively Low | $107,000 |
| 22 | Montgomery County | 53.3" | Relatively Moderate | $248,300 |
| 23 | Robertson County | 53.3" | Relatively Low | $296,700 |
| 24 | Overton County | 53.5" | Very Low | $171,700 |
| 25 | Weakley County | 53.6" | Relatively Low | $136,300 |
| 26 | Crockett County | 53.6" | Relatively Low | $134,100 |
| 27 | Obion County | 53.8" | Relatively Moderate | $122,700 |
| 28 | Williamson County | 53.8" | Relatively Moderate | $673,700 |
| 29 | Dickson County | 54.1" | Relatively Low | $272,700 |
| 30 | Warren County | 54.4" | Relatively Low | $173,900 |
| 31 | Wilson County | 54.5" | Relatively Low | $397,000 |
| 32 | Campbell County | 54.6" | Relatively Low | $169,500 |
| 33 | Pickett County | 54.6" | Very Low | $162,200 |
| 34 | Claiborne County | 54.7" | Relatively Low | $148,000 |
| 35 | Henderson County | 54.8" | Relatively Low | $156,000 |
| 36 | Houston County | 54.8" | Very Low | $150,100 |
| 37 | Stewart County | 54.8" | Very Low | $182,700 |
| 38 | Fayette County | 54.9" | Relatively Low | $316,000 |
| 39 | Shelby County | 54.9" | Relatively High | $229,700 |
| 40 | Macon County | 55.0" | Very Low | $211,200 |
| 41 | Sumner County | 55.0" | Relatively Moderate | $364,000 |
| 42 | Trousdale County | 55.0" | Very Low | $284,100 |
| 43 | Hamilton County | 55.0" | Relatively Moderate | $282,100 |
| 44 | Marion County | 55.0" | Relatively Low | $173,600 |
| 45 | Henry County | 55.0" | Relatively Moderate | $145,200 |
| 46 | Loudon County | 55.2" | Relatively Low | $292,600 |
| 47 | Monroe County | 55.3" | Relatively Low | $199,700 |
| 48 | Anderson County | 55.5" | Relatively Low | $215,800 |
| 49 | Tipton County | 55.8" | Relatively Moderate | $220,100 |
| 50 | Carroll County | 55.9" | Relatively Low | $122,100 |
| 51 | Rutherford County | 55.9" | Relatively Moderate | $346,400 |
| 52 | Marshall County | 56.1" | Relatively Low | $246,100 |
| 53 | Haywood County | 56.1" | Relatively Low | $119,600 |
| 54 | Hardeman County | 56.1" | Relatively Low | $116,800 |
| 55 | Gibson County | 56.2" | Relatively Moderate | $149,700 |
| 56 | Bledsoe County | 56.2" | Very Low | $165,400 |
| 57 | Morgan County | 56.4" | Very Low | $144,000 |
| 58 | Clay County | 56.5" | Very Low | $136,900 |
| 59 | Jackson County | 56.5" | Very Low | $135,200 |
| 60 | Maury County | 56.8" | Relatively Low | $307,500 |
| 61 | Lauderdale County | 56.8" | Relatively Low | $122,100 |
| 62 | Madison County | 56.9" | Relatively Moderate | $189,700 |
| 63 | DeKalb County | 57.0" | Very Low | $206,600 |
| 64 | Decatur County | 57.1" | Very Low | $133,900 |
| 65 | Hickman County | 57.1" | Relatively Low | $192,000 |
| 66 | Lewis County | 57.1" | Very Low | $157,800 |
| 67 | Cumberland County | 57.5" | Relatively Low | $228,000 |
| 68 | Lawrence County | 57.6" | Relatively Low | $176,700 |
| 69 | Cannon County | 57.6" | Very Low | $227,600 |
| 70 | Perry County | 57.6" | Very Low | $113,800 |
| 71 | Bradley County | 57.6" | Relatively Low | $230,800 |
| 72 | Polk County | 57.6" | Very Low | $136,400 |
| 73 | Franklin County | 57.7" | Relatively Low | $215,700 |
| 74 | Union County | 57.7" | Very Low | $186,300 |
| 75 | Scott County | 58.1" | Very Low | $116,800 |
| 76 | Sevier County | 58.2" | Relatively Low | $259,500 |
| 77 | Giles County | 58.6" | Relatively Low | $204,100 |
| 78 | White County | 58.7" | Very Low | $190,200 |
| 79 | Meigs County | 58.7" | Very Low | $185,500 |
| 80 | Roane County | 58.8" | Relatively Low | $212,300 |
| 81 | Van Buren County | 59.0" | Very Low | $149,200 |
| 82 | McNairy County | 59.1" | Relatively Low | $151,100 |
| 83 | Hardin County | 59.2" | Relatively Low | $154,000 |
| 84 | Coffee County | 59.3" | Relatively Low | $227,300 |
| 85 | Bedford County | 59.4" | Relatively Low | $255,300 |
| 86 | Rhea County | 59.4" | Relatively Low | $178,500 |
| 87 | Lincoln County | 59.8" | Relatively Low | $209,100 |
| 88 | Fentress County | 59.8" | Very Low | $151,800 |
| 89 | Putnam County | 60.0" | Relatively Low | $246,800 |
| 90 | McMinn County | 60.4" | Relatively Low | $190,400 |
| 91 | Wayne County | 61.8" | Relatively Low | $126,600 |
| 92 | Chester County | 61.8" | Relatively Low | $155,200 |
| 93 | Moore County | 62.3" | Very Low | $259,300 |
| 94 | Grundy County | 63.2" | Very Low | $133,400 |
| 95 | Sequatchie County | 63.7" | Very Low | $217,800 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Tennessee