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Guide updated September 2026
“Hub of the Upper Cumberland — waterfall country, college town”
Cookeville Consultation — No Obligation
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The quick answer
Cookeville is the Putnam County seat and the hub of Tennessee's Upper Cumberland: a walkable historic core around Courthouse Square and the WestSide cultural district, plus a Tennessee Tech University campus that gives it a steady college-town rhythm. Cummins Falls and Burgess Falls sit minutes away. It tends to fit remote workers and locally employed households.
Cookeville (pop. ~35,000) is the seat of Putnam County and the commercial, medical, and education hub of the Upper Cumberland region, sitting along I-40 roughly 80 miles east of downtown Nashville. The city's character blends a walkable historic core — the WestSide cultural district, Courthouse Square, and the North Dixie Avenue Historic District — with a Tennessee Tech University campus of more than 10,000 students that gives it a steady college-town energy. It's a genuine outdoor-recreation gateway: Cummins Falls and Burgess Falls state parks are minutes away, and the area is marketed as having 150-plus waterfalls within about 40 miles. The economy leans on three large anchors — Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Tennessee Tech, and the Putnam County School System — alongside a manufacturing base, so it suits buyers who want a smaller-city cost of living with their work, healthcare, and university amenities close at hand. The honest tradeoff is distance from Nashville: a realistic 75-80 minute drive each way makes it a stretch for daily Nashville commuting and better suited to remote workers, regional-employer households, or those whose lives center on Cookeville itself. Public schools are operated by the Putnam County School System, which serves Cookeville along with Algood, Baxter, and Monterey.
185 homes for sale in Cookeville right now
Active listings as of 2026-09-23 · Source: Realtracs via MLS GRID
Source: Realtracs via MLS GRID · retrieved 2026-09-06
↓ $32,000 · Sep 181 / 6$157,998
2942 Downing St
Cookeville, TN, 38506
Heartland Point · Single level · Main-level primary
“Fantastic opportunity to own a well-priced home with endless potential! This well-kept…”
15 days on market
Listed by Elevate Real Estate · MLS# 3254940
Active · (931) 283-2312
↓ $24,9001 / 6$465,000
1250 Charles St
Cookeville, TN, 38506
Hillwood Estates · Finished basement
“Welcome to this charming and well-maintained single-owner home nestled in the desirable…”
16 days on market
Listed by Highlands Elite Real Estate · MLS# 3230122
Active · (931) 400-8820
↓ $40,000 · Sep 171 / 6$269,900
212 W Jere Whitson Rd
Cookeville, TN, 38501
Northpointe Preserve · Main-level primary · New construction
“Make an amazing investment in these upscale townhomes that are walking distance to TTU!…”
16 days on market
Listed by The Property Company · MLS# 3543229
Active · (931) 559-9120
↓ $15,0001 / 6$799,900
915 Brotherton Dr
Cookeville, TN, 38506
Overlook At Brotherton · Acreage · Main-level primary
“Situated on 3.22 acres in The Overlook, this beautiful home offers a tranquil county…”
17 days on market
Listed by Highlands Elite Real Estate · MLS# 3288577
Active · (931) 268-7653
1 / 6$379,900
2397 Nelson Way
Cookeville, TN, 38506
The Reserve at the Country Club · Single level
“The Livingston is built to flex with whatever stage of life you're in. Open living space…”
18 days on market
Listed by Legacy South Brokerage · MLS# 3542843
Active · (615) 551-4505
1 / 6$274,929
244 Boatman St
Cookeville, TN, 38501
Villas @ Park View · Single level · Main-level primary
“The Villas at Park View offer top quality and affordability right in the heart of…”
20 days on market
Listed by Skender-Newton Realty · MLS# 3541423
Active · (931) 261-9001
Listings courtesy of Realtracs as distributed by MLS GRID
IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers’ personal noncommercial use, may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing, and is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed by MLS GRID. Use of the MLS GRID Data may be subject to an end user license agreement prescribed by the Member Participant’s applicable MLS if any and as amended from time to time.
Based on information submitted to the MLS GRID as of September 23, 2026 at 11:58 AM CDT. All data is obtained from various sources and may not have been verified by broker or MLS GRID. Supplied Open House Information is subject to change without notice. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
Some IDX listings have been excluded from this website.
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Questions people ask about Cookeville
Cookeville is the regional hub of the Upper Cumberland, not a Nashville suburb — it is about 79 miles east on I-40 and it functions on its own. Tennessee Tech University, with more than ten thousand students, sits in the middle of it, and the historic WestSide district beside the campus is where much of the town's food and music is.
It is also waterfall country. Cummins Falls and Burgess Falls state parks are a short drive, and the wider Upper Cumberland has scores of falls within about forty miles. Cookeville Regional Medical Center anchors healthcare for the region. People choose it for a college-town feel and real outdoor access.
The distance is the decision. At about 79 miles from Nashville, Cookeville is not a commuter town, and treating it as one will not work. People move here because they work here, work remotely, or want the Upper Cumberland rather than the metro.
Once you accept that, the town is straightforward: Putnam County seat, a university, a regional hospital, a restored downtown square and the WestSide, and neighborhoods ranging from the historic North Dixie Avenue district to newer subdivisions. The Willows retail center is the current commercial project reshaping the town's shopping.
About 75 to 80 minutes to downtown Nashville, on I-40 the whole way. It is an easy drive — rural interstate, few chokepoints until you reach Wilson County — but it is long, and it is not something most people do daily.
Treat Nashville as a place you go, not a place you commute to. If you need the airport or a downtown meeting occasionally, it is entirely manageable; if you need it every morning, Cookeville is the wrong town and Lebanon or Mount Juliet is the compromise worth looking at.
We don't rate schools and we don't characterize any area as safe or otherwise — those are your calls to make, from the official record, and an agent who makes them for you is doing you a disservice. What we will do is hand you the primary sources and get out of the way.
Zoning is set by address, not by subdivision name, so the district's own school-locator tool is the only answer that holds for the specific house you're looking at. Our sources page links the Tennessee Department of Education report card, the district lookups, and the official crime-data portals, with no commentary from us on any of them.
What's changing in Cookeville
Updated June 2026The marquee project currently reshaping Cookeville and Putnam County is The Willows, a 40-acre retail development at the corner of South Willow Avenue and Interstate 40 that will deliver Putnam County's first Target and first Home Depot. It is the single most-anticipated and highest-profile project in the market, with two big-box anchors, restaurant pads, and an anticipated fall (reported October) 2026 opening. Two separate industrial announcements (LEV Manufacturing and Anatolia Cabinet & Millwork) are the largest recent jobs and capital-investment wins, but the retail center is the project most visibly transforming the area.
MARQUEE PROJECT — THE WILLOWS (retail). Location: at the southeast corner of South Willow Avenue and Interstate 40 in Cookeville. It is a 40-acre, multi-retail development and is the first Target and first Home Depot in Putnam County.
Developer/team: Developed by Development Management Group, LLC (DMG) of Nashville, with CHM, LLC as developer-builder.
Size: Two big-box anchors (Target and Home Depot) plus restaurant spaces, a garden center, and several outparcels slated for additional restaurants and retailers.
Timeline/status: Construction is underway. Site work began in 2025; the official groundbreaking was held April 24, 2025. Anticipated opening is fall 2026, reported as October 2026. As of mid-2026 the project is under active construction (status: in progress, not yet open).
Public incentive: A $2.75 million infrastructure grant was requested from the Cookeville City Council for traffic and street improvements at the site. No total private-investment dollar figure has been publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed.
WHY IT MATTERS LOCALLY: Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter described Target and Home Depot as among the retailers most requested by local residents, and framed the project as keeping sales-tax dollars in the county rather than losing them to the Nashville and Knoxville metros — relevant context for the regional-hub role Cookeville plays in the Upper Cumberland.
LARGEST RECENT INDUSTRIAL/JOBS WINS (secondary): (1) LEV (Light Electric Vehicles) Manufacturing — announced ~May 2026, establishing its first Tennessee facility in Algood (Putnam County), creating 288 jobs and investing $7 million, acquiring a 100,000 sq ft production/distribution facility to serve Rad Power Bikes products. (2) Anatolia Cabinet and Millwork — announced November 2025, creating 56 jobs and investing $9.6 million in a Baxter (Putnam County) facility.
HOW TO FRAME FOR OUT-OF-STATE MOVERS: The Willows is the headline new retail/amenities story (Target + Home Depot + dining, opening 2026). LEV Manufacturing ($7M, 288 jobs) and Anatolia ($9.6M, 56 jobs) are the headline new-employer stories. The one notable data gap is The Willows' total private investment dollar amount, which was not disclosed in public sources.
Cookeville's Historic WestSide and downtown have added restaurants, bars, and shops since 2023, while a retail center called The Willows is under construction at I-40 and Willow Avenue. Below are verified 2023-2026 openings and publicly reported coming-soon establishments in Cookeville and Putnam County.
Restaurant from Seven Senses owner Jay Albrecht at 35 W. Broad Street in the Historic WestSide, serving a Southern menu with an eclectic range of influences. The space seats about 100 indoors plus a 25-seat outdoor patio.
Restaurant · opened August 2025
Cocktail lounge and restaurant from owners Toni and Bryon Mowrey at 102 N. Cedar Avenue on Cookeville's Historic WestSide. It serves classic and craft cocktails alongside breakfast, lunch, and dinner prepared in an open-kitchen setting.
Bar / Brewery · opened October 20, 2025
Restaurant with rooftop dining at 115 W. First Street in downtown Cookeville, owned by Barry Reese and open seven nights a week. In November 2025 the rooftop level was rebuilt with a motorized louvered roof, floor heating, and ceiling fans for year-round use.
Restaurant · opened 2024; rooftop dining expanded November 2025
Brian and Kate Heim's coffee business, which started in a converted horse trailer in 2022, opened its first brick-and-mortar shop at 490 E. 10th Street near Tennessee Tech. The shop seats about 30 guests and serves espresso drinks, smoothies, and teas.
Coffee · opened fall 2025
Cookeville coffeehouse Poet's Coffee, owned by Jeremy and Lauren Crabtree, operates a third location inside the Volpe Library at Tennessee Tech University. The university describes it as the first permanent partnership between its dining services and a local business.
Coffee · opened March 2025
Bakery chain location at 377 W. Jackson Street selling bundt cakes in several sizes and flavors, from single-serve bundtlets to tiered cakes.
Grocery / Food hall · opened March 2026
Reservation-based tea room and private event venue founded by Cheryl Vick at 1310 Walter Reed Road, hosting afternoon teas, bridal luncheons, birthday celebrations, and private gatherings, with a veranda and pool patio for outdoor seating. Its afternoon tea service features flavored teas, house-made scones, finger sandwiches, and pastries, and 85 percent of proceeds go to Open Heart Rescue and Shriners Children's Hospital. The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber held its ribbon cutting on August 12, 2026.
New spot · opened August 2026
Shop and event space at 453 E. Broad Street from owners Cayce and Devon Wallace, carrying menswear, womenswear, and everyday essentials. An adjoining room hosts private dinners, micro-weddings, workshops, and pop-ups.
Retail · opened September 2025
Footwear retailer, owned by Shoe Carnival, at 1265 Interstate Drive in The Shoppes at Eagle Point. It replaced the Shoe Carnival store that previously occupied the space.
Retail · opened April 5, 2025
A 3,693-square-foot McDonald's at 12th and N. Washington Avenue, operated by Funderburk Family McDonald's and built by the Hudson Company. It is Putnam County's fifth McDonald's location.
Restaurant · opened December 2025 (ribbon cutting September 12, 2025)
Bar-and-grill from Bluegrass Hospitality Group at 1010 S. Walnut Avenue near The Shoppes at Eagle Point, serving burgers, sushi, sandwiches, salads, and steak. It is open seven days a week.
Restaurant · opened August 14, 2023
The daytime breakfast, brunch, and lunch chain is planned for 1115 Interstate Drive, at a site occupied by an IHOP that was set to close in mid-2026 after the property was sold. The company was recruiting a restaurant operations manager for the location as of June 2026.
Restaurant · announced, opening date not yet confirmed
The Wisconsin-based chain known for ButterBurgers and frozen custard is planned for 969 S. Willow Avenue, at the corner of South Willow Avenue and Humble Drive. Building permits have been issued for the site.
Restaurant · permitted, opening date not announced
The California burger chain is pursuing a restaurant on an outparcel at The Willows shopping center off I-40 and South Willow Avenue. Cookeville's Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a setback variance for the location's drive-through canopy, and as of September 2026 the chain has preliminary site plan approval but no building permit and no announced opening date.
Restaurant · announced; site plan approved, no opening date set
Two national anchor retailers are under construction at The Willows, a retail center at 1100 S. Willow Avenue at the southeast corner of I-40 and Willow Avenue, developed by CHM and Development Management Group. Home Depot's grand opening is set for October 8, 2026, and Target, a 128,000-square-foot store with a Starbucks Cafe and CVS Pharmacy, opens October 11, 2026.
Retail · expected October 2026
Figures reviewed July 2026. We pull current, address-level comparables before any offer.
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We do not publish a single median for Cookeville; ask us for live comparables. Call 615-265-1000 and we'll pull current closed comparable sales, with their source and date, for the specific neighborhood and price point you're considering.
Cookeville is approximately 75-80 minutes (about 79 miles via I-40) from downtown Nashville, depending on traffic and your specific route.
Cookeville is the regional hub of Tennessee's Upper Cumberland, a Tennessee Tech University college town about 80 miles east of Nashville, surrounded by one of North America's densest concentrations of waterfalls. It's commonly a fit for Remote workers who want lower cost of living, Tennessee Tech and healthcare-sector households, Outdoor and waterfall enthusiasts, Buyers wanting more space from the Nashville metro, Buyers wanting small-city walkable downtown living.
Areas commonly searched in Cookeville include Historic WestSide, North Dixie Avenue Historic District, White Plains, Rebecca Place, Capshaw Woods, Downtown / Courthouse Square. We can pull recent comparable sales and tell you what's currently driving demand in each, so you can decide what fits.
The Will Johnson Team (eXp Realty) works Cookeville regularly — a 5.0-rated team on Google and Zillow, RealTrends Verified 2026, licensed in Tennessee since 2013, and quoted as an expert source by CBS MoneyWatch and Bottom Line Personal. Call 615-265-1000 to talk through buying or selling in Cookeville — the first conversation carries no commitment.
Cookeville is the regional hub of the Upper Cumberland, not a Nashville suburb — it is about 79 miles east on I-40 and it functions on its own. Tennessee Tech University, with more than ten thousand students, sits in the middle of it, and the historic WestSide district beside the campus is where much of the town's food and music is. It is also waterfall country. Cummins Falls and Burgess Falls state parks are a short drive, and the wider Upper Cumberland has scores of falls within about forty miles. Cookeville Regional Medical Center anchors healthcare for the region. People choose it for a college-town feel and real outdoor access.
The distance is the decision. At about 79 miles from Nashville, Cookeville is not a commuter town, and treating it as one will not work. People move here because they work here, work remotely, or want the Upper Cumberland rather than the metro. Once you accept that, the town is straightforward: Putnam County seat, a university, a regional hospital, a restored downtown square and the WestSide, and neighborhoods ranging from the historic North Dixie Avenue district to newer subdivisions. The Willows retail center is the current commercial project reshaping the town's shopping.
About 75 to 80 minutes to downtown Nashville, on I-40 the whole way. It is an easy drive — rural interstate, few chokepoints until you reach Wilson County — but it is long, and it is not something most people do daily. Treat Nashville as a place you go, not a place you commute to. If you need the airport or a downtown meeting occasionally, it is entirely manageable; if you need it every morning, Cookeville is the wrong town and Lebanon or Mount Juliet is the compromise worth looking at.
We don't rate schools and we don't characterize any area as safe or otherwise — those are your calls to make, from the official record, and an agent who makes them for you is doing you a disservice. What we will do is hand you the primary sources and get out of the way. Zoning is set by address, not by subdivision name, so the district's own school-locator tool is the only answer that holds for the specific house you're looking at. Our sources page links the Tennessee Department of Education report card, the district lookups, and the official crime-data portals, with no commentary from us on any of them.
Sumner County
Current comps on request
Williamson County
$1,444,136–$1,600,000 median (May–June 2026, Redfin/Zillow/Orchard)
Williamson County
$925,000 median (June 2026, RealTracs)
Sumner County
Current comps on request
One page per matchup: what each town is actually like, the current listing figures side by side with their sources, drive times, and the trade-offs. Cookeville appears in 24 of them.
Pick Cookeville and any other Middle TN area to see them side-by-side: median price, drive time, walk score, lifestyle character.
About the authors
Will Johnson leads The Will Johnson Team at eXp Realty, serving buyers and sellers across Middle Tennessee — Cookeville, Nashville, Hendersonville, Gallatin, Sumner County, Brentwood, Franklin, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro and the surrounding communities. A U.S. Army veteran who served 14 years and rose to the rank of Major, and a former ICU nurse and nurse anesthetist (CRNA) who graduated with a 4.0 from MTSA, he has been licensed in Tennessee since 2013 (license #330494); in the last 12 months (as of 2026) the team has closed $27.7 million in volume across 64 transactions. The team holds a 5.0 rating on Google and Zillow, is RealTrends Verified 2026, has been featured as an expert source by CBS MoneyWatch and Bottom Line Personal, and can be reached at 615-265-1000.
Equal Housing Opportunity · Licensed in Tennessee and regulated by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TN #330494) · The Will Johnson Team is affiliated with eXp Realty · This page is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice.
