7 Suburbs Near Top Employers in Nashville

You leave the house at 7 a.m., allowing a full hour to get to your office a mere 30 miles away. That should be plenty of time, even if there’s an accident or two along the way. But day after day, you find that you’re running late, even when you move your departure time up to 6:30 a.m., then 6 a.m.

Welcome to Nashville, a city that has seen enormous growth in recent years. Unlike many major metropolitan areas, though, Nashville has no railway transit, leading to roadways packed with cars during both rush hours each day. The issue has become so serious that 27 percent of local workers report that they’ve left a job because of it. There has to be an easier way right? 

You could live in Downtown Nashville, but with houses now so expensive, it may be difficult to afford. If you have a family, things get even more complicated because the public schools in the downtown area are still improving. A great alternative is to find a job on the outskirts of the city, where commutes are less harrowing and home prices are more affordable.

Here are some of the best suburbs to consider during your next job search.

Franklin

Nashville may be known for country music, but healthcare has long been one of its biggest industries. This continues today, with top employers like HCA Healthcare Inc. and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. But among those bigwigs is Community Health Systems, employing 4,700 people locally. Many of those workers are stationed at the Franklin office, located on the north side of town in the Cool Springs area. Other big employers in the Franklin area include Nissan North America and MEDHOST.

Although Williamson County is one of the richest counties in the nation you can still find beautiful homes within the county for under $200,000. No matter where you buy, you’ll be zoned for the top-rated Williamson County School District. For more housing options, focus your search on neighborhoods like Laurelwood and Hardison Hills.

Brentwood

Head north on Interstate 65 from Franklin and you’ll run into the populous city of Brentwood, home to Maryland Farms, a busy office complex with access to plenty of nearby shops, restaurants, and even its own YMCA.

Brentwood’s largest employer, Comdata, is located in Maryland Farms, along with TrustCore and Tractor Supply Co.

By offering access to top schools as well as plenty of shops and restaurants, Brentwood has been ranked as one of the best places to live in Nashville. You can find homes priced in the mid $200s in Brentwood’s Concord Place. These homes are just over a decade old and well-kept, with many featuring three bedrooms and two to three bathrooms. Best of all, schools like Brentwood Middle School and Brentwood High School are among the top in the greater Nashville area, according to GreatSchools.org.

Murfreesboro

Murfreesboro was once primarily a college town, but an influx of industry has given career seekers and families plenty of reason to relocate here. Middle Tennessee State University is still one of the top employers, but it now faces competition from Amazon Fulfillment and National HealthCare Corporation.

You’ll find plenty of affordable homes in Murfreesboro, especially in the Evergreen Farms and Puckett Downs subdivisions. These neighborhoods feature single-family homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range. While the most affordable homes in Puckett Downs are on the smaller size, you can find a three-bedroom home at a similar price point in Evergreen Farms. Both neighborhoods are zoned for Blackman High School, which is highly rated by GreatSchools.org, and Puckett Downs also puts you in the top-rated Blackman Middle School district. 

In addition to plenty of grocery stores and restaurants, the city also has an upscale shopping center that includes a Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, and many other well-known stores.

Lebanon

No list of Middle Tennessee employers would be complete without Lebanon, home to the corporate headquarters of Cracker Barrel.

Lebanon is a great place to live, with home prices in the low $200,000s in subdivisions like Colonial Village and Kensington, with both neighborhoods offering three-bedroom single-family homes for a reasonable price. Both subdivisions are in the Wilson County School District, which features high-rated elementary, middle, and high schools. If you want to be as close as possible to work, focus on subdivisions like Georgetown and Woodall Ridge, which are only a short drive from the Cracker Barrel headquarters, helping you avoid the 40-mile commute downtown.

Lebanon itself has plenty of shops and restaurants, with even more attractions in nearby Mt. Juliet, only a 16-mile commute from the Cracker Barrel offices. Other top Lebanon employers include Amazon Fulfillment, Performance Food Group, ARS-Rescue Rooter, and Permobil.

Spring Hill

Even farther south of Nashville is Spring Hill, a community that became popular in the 1980s, when General Motors (GM) announced the city as its location for its new Saturn plant. Although Saturn vehicles are now just a memory, the company still uses its location on Saturn Parkway for vehicle manufacturing, currently building Cadillacs, Acadias, and Chevrolets at the facility. In addition to GM, Spring Hill is also home to IBEX Global, an international call center.

When choosing a neighborhood, look for homes near schools such as Allendale Elementary School or Spring Station Middle School. You’ll find home prices under $300,000 in the Allendale school district. For the best prices while still having access to these schools, look at the Wyngate Estates subdivision. It dates back to 1996 and has plenty of three- and four-bedroom homes priced in the high $200s and the low $300s. Chapmans Retreat is a newer subdivision built in 2003, and it features three-bedroom homes priced from the high $200s to the mid $300s.

Not only does Spring Hill have plenty of its own shops and restaurants, but Franklin is less than 15 miles away.

Smyrna

Home to Nissan North America’s corporate headquarters, Smyrna is another city transformed by the automotive industry. Approximately 8,000 employees report to this location, boosting the local market.

Mobile device insurance provider Asurion also employs more than 1,200 employees in its Smyrna offices, which is located just a few miles from its Downtown Nashville headquarters. 

Smyrna is a growing, thriving city, with access to the top-rated Rutherford County School District. For the best home prices, focus on neighborhoods like Seven Oaks, which has been offering affordable homes since 2005. You can find three- and four-bedroom homes around $200,000 to $350,000.

La Vergne

If you’ve bought a book in a bookstore in recent years, chances are it originated from Ingram Content Group in La Vergne. In addition to distributing books on behalf of top publishers, the company also offers print on-demand solutions for authors. Ingram employs 2,000 workers, making it one of the top companies in Rutherford County. Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. also employs an additional 1,000 people in the city. 

Although La Vergne is a relatively small town, with only one high school, it does have plenty of neighborhoods with affordable homes priced under $200,000, such as Cedar Lake and Lake Forest Estates.

Most of the town’s restaurants are locally owned, but it does have a Kroger grocery store that’s only a few miles from Smyrna, where you’ll find additional shops and restaurants. 

Finding the perfect town to call home can be challenging, but it helps when you can narrow it down by employers. If you change your search from the downtown area to the suburban areas, you’ll find there are plenty of great communities in the Nashville area with top employers and reasonable home prices. Best of all, you can spend more time pursuing hobbies or being with your family, rather than dealing with long commutes and sitting in traffic.