Shelby County · Memphis · population 610,919
Where Memphis stands
Home values down 3.2% in the last year. population shrinking 0.9% per year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 9.8 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Memphis on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 9.8 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →Memphis has held up across the cycle: home values at $147,306 with +2.8% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.
Memphis's population is shrinking 0.9% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.
About Memphis
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, with an estimated population of 610,919. The population has contracted 0.9% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Memphis is $147,306 as of 2026-04, down 3.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.8% annual growth (-7.7% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Memphis average $1,256 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.2%). The composite momentum score is 47 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.
▲ Bull case
▼ Bear case
About Memphis (Wikipedia)
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Tennessee, the fifth-most populous in the Southeast, and the 28th-most populous in the US. Memphis is the largest city proper on the Mississippi River and anchors the Memphis area that includes parts of Arkansas and Mississippi, the 45th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. with 1.34 million residents.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Things to see in Memphis(Tourism)
- Beale Street – a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Street performers play live music, and bars and clubs feature live entertainment.
- Graceland – the private residence of Elvis Presley
- Memphis Zoo – features exhibits of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians
- Peabody Hotel – known for the "Peabody Ducks" on the hotel rooftop
- Sun Studio – a recording studio opened in 1950; it now also contains a museum
- Orpheum Theatre – features Broadway shows, Ballet Memphis and Opera Memphis
- The New Daisy Theatre – concert venue located on Beale Street
- Mud Island Amphitheatre – concert venue
- Memphis Pyramid – location of the largest Bass Pro Shops in the world, an observation deck, restaurants, bowling alley, aquarium, and hotel
- Memphis Brooks Museum of Art – the oldest and largest fine art museum in Tennessee; the collection includes Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionist, and 20th-century artists.
- Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art – contains a large collection of Asian jade art, Asian art, and Judaic art.
- Children's Museum of Memphis – exhibits interactive and educational activities for children.
+9 more on Wikipedia.
Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.
Playbook
You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.
Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.
Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Shelby County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Shelby County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Neighborhoods of Memphis
12 tracked · ranked by median home valueCities like Memphis
Run the numbers for Memphis
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Memphis area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Memphis listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Cities similar to Memphis
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.