Moving from California to Franklin, Tennessee: the 2026 guide

The short version

• No state income tax on wages. A California couple with $500,000 of taxable income pays about $39,377 in California income tax. In Tennessee, that line is zero.
• Prices are closer than you might think. The median listing price in Williamson County was $1,155,000 in September 2026, against $1,287,500 in Orange County and $1,409,500 in Santa Clara County.
• Sales tax runs higher. Franklin's combined rate is 9.75 percent, compared with a California average of 9.03 percent.
• Schools are a draw. Williamson County Schools posted the highest overall TCAP proficiency of any Tennessee district for 2025 to 2026, at 73.9 percent.

Income tax: the biggest line item that disappears

Tennessee does not tax wages, and its tax on interest and dividends, the Hall tax, was fully repealed for tax periods beginning January 1, 2021. California taxes income at rates up to 12.3 percent, plus a 1 percent Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1 million, for a top rate of 13.3 percent.

Here is what California's 2025 rate schedule produces for a married couple filing jointly, before credits:

California also withholds 1.3 percent of all wages for State Disability Insurance in 2026, with no wage cap.

Sources: California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 Tax Rate Schedule Y and 2025 Form 540 instructions; California EDD, 2026 rates; Tennessee Department of Revenue, Hall Income Tax. Your situation will differ; talk with your CPA about residency and timing.

What your money buys

Median listing prices from Realtor.com, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:

A county median blends condos, townhomes, and estates, so it tells you the market's center, not your home's price. What moves the number most is land and location: in Franklin, a similar house on a larger lot, or in a historic district, can price very differently. I give you neighborhood level sold data in The Relocation Brief.

Source: Realtor.com Residential Data via FRED, series MEDLISPRI, read October 8, 2026.

Property tax: a different formula

California taxes property at 1 percent of the purchase price plus voter approved bonds, and Proposition 13 limits increases in assessed value to 2 percent a year until the home sells. If you have owned your California home for a long time, your current bill may be far below what a new buyer pays.

Tennessee taxes residential property on 25 percent of its appraised value. In Franklin, your bill combines the Williamson County rate, the City of Franklin rate, and, for addresses inside the Franklin Special School District, that district's rate.

Here is what the 2026 rates produce on a home appraised at $1.5 million:

The math: $1,500,000 appraised, times 25 percent, is $375,000 assessed; times the rate per $100. Franklin addresses inside the Franklin Special School District carry an additional district levy, so I confirm the exact bill parcel by parcel. For comparison, California's 1 percent base alone on a $1.5 million purchase is $15,000 a year, before any voter approved bonds. Tennessee appraised values can differ from your purchase price.

Sources: Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, 2025 Tax Aggregate Report (25 percent residential assessment); Williamson County Commission, FY 2026 to 2027 budget adopted June 18, 2026 ($1.30); City of Franklin, FY 2026 to 2027 budget adopted June 9, 2026 ($0.296); City of Brentwood rate $0.19; California Legislative Analyst's Office and Proposition 13.

Schools

Franklin is served by two public districts. Williamson County Schools covers most of the county, including Brentwood, unincorporated areas such as Leiper's Fork, and Franklin addresses outside the Franklin Special School District. For 2025 to 2026, it posted the highest overall TCAP proficiency of any district in Tennessee, at 73.9 percent.

The Franklin Special School District runs eight schools through eighth grade in much of the city of Franklin; its students continue to Williamson County Schools high schools, Franklin High and Centennial High.

School zoning is set by address and can change. I confirm the zoning for every home in your Relocation Brief before you tour it.

Sources: Tennessee Department of Education TCAP district results, July 2026; Williamson County Schools; WSMV, July 15, 2026; Franklin Special School District.

Where to start looking

A few ways to translate what you love at home:

• If you love a walkable downtown: Downtown Franklin, with brick sidewalks, Victorian storefronts, and an accredited Main Street America district.
• If you want a planned community with everything close: Westhaven, about 1,500 acres with a village center of shops and restaurants, a golf club, trails, and roughly half its land set aside as green space.
• If you want land and quiet: Leiper's Fork, an unincorporated village southwest of Franklin with rolling farmland and a small village center.
• If you want larger lots close to Nashville: Brentwood, with wooded streets and the Maryland Farms office district.

Sources: Downtown Franklin Association; Southern Land Company, October 2023; Visit Franklin.

Read the full Franklin guide for more.

How to buy well from out of state

1. Start with The Relocation Brief. Before you book a flight, I send a private, written briefing: neighborhoods matched to your budget and commute, school districts confirmed by address, a tax and cost comparison, and a short list of homes side by side.
2. Make one scouting trip count. Two or three days, built around your short list, your office, and the schools that matter to you, with drive times checked at rush hour.
3. Tour the rest by video. When the right home lists after you fly home, I walk it live on video and tell you what the camera does not show.
4. Line up financing first. Every client has access to a private lending partner on my team for jumbo, bridge, and buy before you sell financing, coordinated in one process.
5. Plan the closing around your move. I coordinate signing and timing with the title company so the logistics fit your schedule, not the other way around.

Questions I hear most