Clarksville vs Louisville
The short version
- Clarksville is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 2% lower than in the Louisville area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $233,900 in Louisville and $263,600 in Clarksville.
- Louisville gets far more snow: 13 inches a year vs 1.
- Clarksville is growing faster: +13.2% since 2020 vs +1.6%.
- Commutes are shorter in Louisville (23 vs 27 minutes each way).
- Tennessee has no state income tax on wages; Kentucky's top rate is 3.5%.
Side by side
| Clarksville, TN | Louisville, KY | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 188,829 | 641,962 |
| Growth since 2020 | +13.2% | +1.6% |
| People per square mile | 1,887 | 2,441 |
| Median age | 31.0 | 37.7 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 30% | 34% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $69,303 | $66,849 |
| Median home value | $263,600 | $233,900 |
| Home value to income | 3.8× | 3.5× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,307 | $1,120 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 90.9 | 93.1 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 73.8 | 78.6 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $68,200 | $69,800 |
| Homeowners | 56% | 61% |
| Top state income tax | None | 3.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.61% | 6% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 27.0 | 22.5 |
| Work from home | 9% | 13% |
| Take public transit | 0% | 2% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| Poverty rate | 12.3% | 15.8% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 47° / 28° | 44° / 28° |
| July high / low | 90° / 69° | 89° / 71° |
| Precipitation per year | 54 in | 48 in |
| Snowfall per year | 1 in | 13 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 57 | 43 |
| Nights below freezing | 78 | 74 |
| Comfortable months | 2 | 3 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Moderate | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 87.4 | 98.3 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 72% | 44% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.1% | +3.8% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +49.4% | +40.2% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Clarksville: September to October. Louisville: June and September to October.
Full monthly tables: Clarksville weather by month and Louisville weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $68,200 in Clarksville and $69,800 in Louisville. Moving from Clarksville to Louisville, you would need about $76,800 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Clarksville and Louisville
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Clarksville and Louisville.
Which would you pick?
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