Wilson County · Middle Tennessee
Living in Lebanon
Lebanon is the seat of Wilson County, about twenty-five miles east of downtown Nashville where I-40 meets the eastern end of I-840. It is the terminus of the region’s only commuter rail line, it is home to Cracker Barrel’s corporate headquarters, and it has grown from about 38,000 people in 2020 to an estimated 51,500.
- County
- Wilson
- Distance to downtown Nashville
- ~25 miles
- Transit
- Eastern terminus of the WeGo Star commuter rail line
- Schools
- Two districts. Read the school note before you assume
What’s actually there
- A working public square with independent restaurants, a brewery and the Capitol Theater
- The WeGo Star terminus, the eastern end of the 32-mile line into Nashville
- Cracker Barrel’s corporate headquarters on Hartmann Drive
- Cumberland University, founded in 1842
- Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital at 1411 West Baddour Parkway, the county’s only inpatient hospital
- The Wilson County Fairgrounds and Fiddlers Grove historic village at 945 East Baddour Parkway
- Cedars of Lebanon State Park south of town, and Don Fox Community Park in it
The housing stock
Older housing around the square and along the historic corridors, large volumes of subdivision construction from the 2000s onward, and named neighborhoods people search including Hamilton Springs, Spence Creek, Stonebridge, Five Oaks, River Oaks and Vineyard Grove. Census-based data put the Lebanon median property value at $378,400 for 2024, up about 5.3 percent on the year, while a Wilson County median of $532,000 in April 2026 covers the whole county including Mount Juliet and runs well above the city on its own. Use the right one for the question you are asking.
Getting around
About twenty-five miles to downtown, thirty to forty minutes off-peak on I-40, with westbound morning traffic the constraint. The WeGo Star runs from here, and I-840 gives a genuinely useful southern route toward Murfreesboro and Franklin without going through Nashville.
Things to do in Lebanon
Places worth knowing before you decide whether you want to live here.
Cedar City Brewing Company
Brewery and taproom at 112 Public Square.
Basic. Eatery
Restaurant at 122 Public Square.
Town Square Social
Restaurant and bar at 145 Public Square.
Capitol Theater
Restored theater at 110 West Main Street.
Wilson County Fairgrounds and Fiddlers Grove
The James E. Ward Agricultural Center at 945 East Baddour Parkway, home of the Wilson County Fair and a historic village.
Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital
1411 West Baddour Parkway. A Level III trauma center and the county’s sole inpatient provider.
Don Fox Community Park
City park with a wading pool, two playgrounds, sand volleyball and a 2.5-mile walking and bike track.
Checked against each business as of August 17, 2026. Nashville loses restaurants faster than most cities, so if something here has closed since, tell me and I’ll get it corrected.
Subdivisions and named developments in Lebanon
Once you are actually looking, you stop searching by city and start searching by subdivision. These are the names that come up, and what is true about each one that will still be true in three years. No prices, no dues, no days on market, because those change and this page would go stale telling you about them.
Hamilton Springs
Tennessee’s first neighborhood built around a commuter rail station, on the WeGo Star line.
- Lebanon adopted a land use plan supporting transit oriented development in July 2006, the Regional Transportation Authority approved the station in June 2011, the city rezoned for TOD that September, construction began May 2012 and the first units opened in summer 2013.
- The Hamilton Springs rail station itself entered service August 27, 2018.
- The first phase was 398 multifamily units with surface parking and commercial space, with single family homes and townhomes planned. Whether those later phases got built is not something I can verify.
- Developed by Jack Bell. The layout is a walkable core anchored by the multimodal station.
Five Oaks
The golf community off U.S. 70, with Five Oaks Boulevard as its single access point.
- More than 500 planned single family homes, townhomes and apartments, so the product mix is wide.
- The Club at Five Oaks course at 621 Five Oaks Boulevard opened in 2001, designed by Neal Carson, operating as a private facility.
- Several separate developments carry the name and are not the original subdivision: The Meadows at Five Oaks is a proposed 274 home age targeted community by David Weekley, Oaks Pointe is 125 lots on 55 acres approved in March 2025, and The Preserve at Five Oaks is another David Weekley community.
- If someone tells you they are buying in Five Oaks, find out which one they mean before you compare anything.
Villages of Hunters Point
On Hunters Point Pike, adjoining the golf club of the same name, with lake access nearby.
- Lebanon Planning Commission approvals on record cover two subdivisions totaling 128 lots at 1501 Hunters Point Parkway, plus a separate 98 lot filing.
- Detached homes, with D.R. Horton currently building a townhome product in the area.
- Hunters Point Golf Club, an 18 hole par 72 course, adjoins the community, and a public boat ramp to Old Hickory Lake sits at 198 Orian Lane.
- The operating status of the golf club is genuinely unresolved between sources, so if the course is part of why you want to be there, confirm it is open before you write an offer.
Vineyard Grove
A Lennar community about two miles from Lebanon Square, near Don Fox Community Park, with Music City Star access close by.
- Single family detached, sold in two collections, Classic and Cambridge.
- HOA, with lawn care provided for select homes and the common areas.
- A swimming pool, clubhouse and children’s playground.
- Built by Lennar’s Nashville division out of 46 Torrey Pines Court.
Schools
Lebanon Special School District · PreK-8 only, inside the Lebanon city district
Look up an address with the district →Wilson County Schools
Look up an address with the district →
Lebanon has two districts and this catches people. The Lebanon Special School District serves PreK through 8 inside its city boundary, with five elementary and two middle schools. It runs no high schools, so students move to Wilson County Schools for grades 9 through 12. Addresses in the city but outside the special district are Wilson County Schools throughout. Confirm the specific address with both district lookups. Wilson County’s tool will tell you an address is not available if it actually falls inside the special district.
I publish district and school zoning as published fact and nothing more. No ratings, no rankings, no comparisons. School zones are set by the district, assigned by address rather than by subdivision or city name, and they change. Confirm any address with the district itself, and evaluate the schools yourself against what matters to your family.
What a buyer needs to know here
Two practical things. First, the school structure. Buying inside the Lebanon Special School District means your children attend an LSSD school through eighth grade and a Wilson County high school after that, and the special district levies its own property tax on top of the county rate. A house a mile away can sit in a completely different arrangement. This is the single most common surprise in Lebanon and it is entirely avoidable if we check the address before you fall in love with the house. Second, sewer. The city has been searching for a site for a new wastewater treatment plant while state records show repeated sewer permit violations, and the council has passed resolutions protecting specific farmland from being used. Capacity is the constraint on growth here, and if you are buying new construction or land, the availability and timing of sewer service is a question to ask in writing rather than assume. On taxes, Wilson County certified $1.1657 per $100 of assessed value effective July 1, 2026 after a reappraisal that raised values about 66 percent countywide. Pre-certification estimates put the City of Lebanon near $0.4050 and the special district near $0.1786, and I could not confirm the final adopted city figure, so we get it in writing before you budget.
Common questions
Can I commute to Nashville by train from Lebanon?
At peak hours on weekdays. Lebanon is the eastern terminus of the WeGo Star, a 32-mile line with seven stations that runs about six round trips a day, two of which only go as far as Mount Juliet. Ridership was about 298,800 in 2018, fell to 57,500 in 2021 and recovered to roughly 153,900 in 2025. It is commuter service, not all-day transit. Ride it at your actual hours before you buy on the strength of it.
Which school district serves Lebanon?
Both of them, in a specific way. The Lebanon Special School District covers PreK through 8 inside its boundary and runs no high schools, so those students attend Wilson County high schools for 9 through 12. Addresses outside the special district are Wilson County Schools all the way through. The special district also levies its own property tax. We check the address in both districts’ own lookups before you make an offer.
What did the 2020 tornado do to Lebanon?
The March 3, 2020 tornado tracked more than sixty miles through Davidson, Wilson and Smith counties. It was at EF2 strength by the time it reached Lebanon and damaged homes and businesses, two cemeteries, the municipal airport and retail on South Hartmann and South Cumberland. Wilson County took the worst of it in Mount Juliet, where the tornado was a high-end EF3. Rebuilding has been underway since, and it is a fair thing to ask about any specific property built or repaired since 2020.
Is sewer capacity really an issue in Lebanon?
It is a live one. The city has been looking for a site for a new wastewater treatment plant, state records show repeated sewer permit violations, and the council has taken up resolutions about which land will not be used. None of that stops you buying an existing home on existing service. It does matter a great deal if you are buying land, buying new construction, or counting on a subdivision finishing on schedule.
Thinking about Lebanon?
What are some of your must haves to make it a perfect home for you in this neighborhood?