Tennessee · 45th largest metro area

Buying a home in Memphis, Tennessee

In Memphis, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $169,000, Shelby County's effective property tax rate is 0.98%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $6,419 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,181 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Memphis home costs, fact by fact

About Memphis

Memphis has a city population of 610,919 and belongs to the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area, ranked 45th among US metro areas. Owners occupy 44.9% of homes.

Calculate for Tennessee

If you buy

Tennessee state transfer tax

Realty transfer tax (recordation tax, Tenn. Code Ann. 67-4-409): $0.37 per $100 of purchase price (0.37%). Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$341,200
State transfer tax$1,262.44
Share of the price0.37% of the price
Who paysThe buyer

Default price: the Tennessee median value of owner-occupied homes, $341,200 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: Price divided by $100, times $0.37. The base for a typical sale is the greater of the price paid or the value of the property at transfer. The sources do not say how a fraction of $100 is handled. Who pays: The Department's manual says the grantee (buyer named on the deed) pays the realty transfer tax and the mortgagor pays the mortgage tax; the manual does not discuss private agreements, so check the purchase contract. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, the tax on the mortgage, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Tennessee transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Tennessee state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Sectors of Memphis

Memphis is divided into the ten most populous of 14 Memphis 3.0 planning districts, one open spot per trade in each.

  • Cordova (about 84,708 residents, estimate)
  • University (about 56,814 residents, estimate)
  • Core City (about 52,357 residents, estimate)
  • Parkway Village (about 51,327 residents, estimate)
  • Southeast (about 48,082 residents, estimate)
  • East (about 47,689 residents, estimate)
  • Raleigh (about 46,362 residents, estimate)
  • Whitehaven (about 40,091 residents, estimate)
  • Jackson (about 38,932 residents, estimate)
  • Westwood (about 38,289 residents, estimate)

Source: City of Memphis GIS, Memphis 3.0 Planning Districts. Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary.

Questions about buying a home in Memphis

How much is property tax in Memphis?

Homeowners in Shelby County pay a median $2,429 a year in property tax, 0.98% of the county median home value of $249,100 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Memphis?

Home-purchase mortgages in Shelby County carried median total loan costs of $6,419 in 2025; half of the 5,630 loans fell between $4,534 and $9,774 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Memphis?

Tennessee taxes both the deed and the loan: the realty transfer tax is $0.37 per $100 of purchase price and the mortgage tax is $0.115 per $100 of debt with the first $2,000 exempt. By the Department of Revenue's rules the buyer pays the first and the borrower the second.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Memphis?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Memphis ($169,000) equals 11.9 years of the median gross rent ($1,181 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Tennessee rules that apply in Memphis

Other large cities in Tennessee

Who licenses each trade in Tennessee · All covered cities

Sources

Tennessee · All states · Federal guides