Buying a Home

• The median listing home price was $315,000 during June 2025, a 5.3% increase year-over-year.
• The median listing home price per square foot was $177.
• The median sold home price was $300,000 during June 2025, a 7.4% increase from the previous year.
• The average listing days for homes on the market was 75 days during June 2025, a 32.1% increase from the previous year.
• 75% of homes sold below asking price, 6% sold at asking price, and 19% sold over asking price during June 2025.
• The number of homes sold or pending was 36 during June 2025, a 38.5% increase month-over-month.
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate is 58.1%

Renting a Home

• One-bedroom apartments: $849 average per month.
• Two-bedroom apartments: $921 average per month.
• Three-bedroom apartments: $1,404 average per month.
• These average rents are 48% lower than the national average.

• Median household income: $53,151
• Per capita income: $31,659
• Unemployment rate: 3.4% (July 2025)

Common local job sectors include:

• Manufacturing especially automotive suppliers including Denso, E&E Manufacturing, Adient, and Heil  Trailer.
• Health care including the 165-bed full-service Starr  Regional Medical Center and associated doctor clinics   and pharmacies.
• Retail trade (see map).
• Education including local public schools, private  Tennessee Wesleyan University (1,200 students),  Tennessee College of Applied Technology (541  students), and Cleveland State Community College  (3,300 students).
• Agriculture including beef cattle, soybeans, corn, and  wheat.

Electric

• Availability Charge: $18.38 per month
• Base Energy Charge: $0.08603 per kWhr
• Fuel Charge: $0.02744 per kWhr

Total: $0.11347 per kWhr + $18.38 availability charge

Example

1,250 kWhr of electricity used x 0.11347 kWhr rate + $18.38 availability charge= $160.22 monthly electric bill

Water

• Minimum Monthly Charge: $10.50
• Water Usage Charge Less Than 5,000 Gallons: $3.70 per 1,000 gallons
• Water Usage Charge Over 5,000 gallons: $4.25 per 1,000 gallons after the first 5,000 gallons

Example

6,000 gallons of water used | $3.70 x 5 = $18.50 + $4.25 x 1 = $4.25 + $10.50 minimum charge = $33.25 monthly water bill

Sewer

• Minimum Monthly Charge: $17.00
• Sewer Charge: $6.50 per 1,000 gallons of water used

Example

6,000 gallons of water used | $6.50 x 6 = $39.00 + $17.00 minimum charge = $56.00 monthly sewer bill

Natural Gas

• Minimum Monthly Charge: $6.00
• Commodity Charge: $0.4348 per therm
• Purchased Gas Adjustment: $0.5843 per therm

Total: $1.0191 per therm + $6.00 minimum charge

Example

30 therms used x $1.0191 per therm rate + 6.00 minimum charge = $36.57 monthly natural gas bill

Garbage

• Monthly charge for weekly curbside garbage collection by City of Athens, billed by AUB: $9.50

Total Monthly Utility Bill (electric, water, sewer, natural gas, and garbage) based on the above assumptions is: $295.54

State Income Tax Rates

• No state income tax.
• No state tax on retirement income including social security benefits, pensions, or withdrawals from retirement accounts.
• No estate or inheritance tax.

Local Property Tax Rates

• City of Athens (including city schools): 1.0078 per $100 of assessed value.
• McMinn County: 1.0823 per $100 of assessed value.

Total: 2.0901 per $100 of assessed value.

Example

$300,000 fair market value of a home x 25% assessment percentage = $75,000 assessed value x 0.020901 tax rate = $1,567.58 for annual city, city schools, and county property taxes

Sales Tax Rates

• State: 7.00% (non-food items)
• State: 4.00% (food items)
• City: 2.75%

Total: 9.75% for non-food items or 6.75% for food items

Local Hotel/Motel Tax Rates

• City: 4.00%
• County: 5.00%

Total: 9.00%

Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Rates

• State: 7.00% (applies to total vehicle sales price)
• City: 2.75% (applies to $1,600)
• State Single Article Tax: 2.75% (applies to the second $1,600)

Example

Vehicle Price: $45,000 | Documentation Fee: $300 (add) | Rebate/Incentives: $2,000 (do not add or subtract, just a third-party payment) | Trade-in Allowance: $10,000 (subtract)=Total Vehicle Sales Price: $35,300

$35,300 x 7% state sales tax = $2,471 | $1,600 x 2.75% city sales tax = $44 | $1,600 x 2.75 state single article tax = $44 | Total Motor Vehicle Sales Tax: $2,559

Sales Tax Holidays

• Tennessee has an annual sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies, and computers typically held in July.

Transportation

• Regular unleaded gas price: $2.71 per gallon (July 2025 at Wal-Mart).
• SETHRA provides local public transportation on a deviated fixed route system for $1.00 per stop.
• Average commute time is 22.4 minutes.