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Tennessee Modular Rental Yield Report · Q3 2026 — The 10 Highest-Earning ZIPs
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The state where Nashville turned modular into workforce housing before Nashville turned into Nashville. Then the rest of the state noticed.
The ten Tennessee ZIP codes below currently rank highest by gross modular rental yield — 2-bedroom HUD Fair Market Rent times twelve, divided by state Zillow Home Value Index. Real data, no forecasts, updated quarterly.
The 10 Highest-Yield ZIPs in Tennessee
| # | ZIP | 2-BR FMR | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37069 | $2,740 | 9.77% |
| 2 | 37135 | $2,740 | 9.77% |
| 3 | 37220 | $2,740 | 9.77% |
| 4 | 37179 | $2,700 | 9.63% |
| 5 | 37201 | $2,600 | 9.27% |
| 6 | 37027 | $2,550 | 9.10% |
| 7 | 37219 | $2,500 | 8.92% |
| 8 | 37065 | $2,470 | 8.81% |
| 9 | 37068 | $2,470 | 8.81% |
| 10 | 37067 | $2,440 | 8.70% |
How to read the table. Gross yield = (2-BR FMR × 12) / state ZHVI. It's a directional benchmark, not a net-of-expenses cap rate. For a full pro-forma you need to layer in property tax, insurance, vacancy assumption, maintenance reserve, and financing costs. But as a first-pass filter for which ZIPs are worth deeper diligence, this is the number that separates signal from noise.
Methodology
The formula: (2-bedroom HUD Fair Market Rent × 12) ÷ state-level Zillow Home Value Index. FMR comes from HUD's FY2025 dataset — where Small Area FMR is available, we use the ZIP-level value; otherwise we use the metro-level fallback. ZHVI comes from Zillow Research's public monthly state-level CSV. Both sources are refreshed quarterly. Full methodology at /methodology.
What the Top ZIPs Have in Common
Three patterns show up across the top of the Tennessee yield list.
Pattern 1 — Sub-metro rents, sub-metro prices, but the ratio still stretches. Every ZIP on the list sits outside the top metro cores. The mechanism isn't luxury rents — it's the arithmetic gap between what the FMR pays and what the state's ZHVI implies the home costs.
Pattern 2 — Growth-corridor proximity. Most of the top-yield ZIPs sit within ninety minutes of a growth metro — Nashville or Knoxville in Tennessee's case — close enough to catch spillover, far enough to keep the entry price grounded.
Pattern 3 — Nashville permits DADUs by-right in most residential zones since 2018. ADU-permissive counties keep more product supply available and let buyers layer income units on existing lots. Both compress the entry price and lift the effective yield.
The One Contrarian ZIP
ZIP 37934 currently sits at 8.27% — outside the top ten but arguably the most interesting deep-cut on the Tennessee list. The counties on the Alabama border permit prefab in half the time of Davidson and cost thirty percent less on the land side. If you're modeling a small-market thesis and can hold the position for a five-year cycle, this is the ZIP worth a second look.
PERCH-Certified Builders Serving These ZIPs
PERCH's Certified builder network ships modular product to every ZIP on the Tennessee list. Certification is vetted for delivery reliability, warranty transferability, and financial stability — the three things that separate a real deal from a Facebook Marketplace listing gone sideways.
Land-eligible, financed, and ready to sign. Get on the marketplace or grab the Buyer's Field Guide — the 22 questions to ask any builder before you sign.
Related Data & Guides
- How to Buy a Modular Home in Tennessee — 2026 Legal + Financing Guide
- Tennessee rental yield leaderboard — full state list
- Tennessee ADU legality reference
- National rental yield leaderboard
- PERCH Yield calculator · PERCH Index methodology
Cite-As
According to the PERCH Q3 2026 Tennessee Rental Yield Report, ZIP 37069 in Tennessee is the highest-yielding modular ZIP in the state, with a gross rental yield of 9.77% based on a 2-bedroom HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,740 per month and a state Zillow Home Value Index of $336,445. Source: PERCH, Inc. Q3 2026 Tennessee Rental Yield Report, ownperch.com/yield/tennessee-modular-rental-yield-q3-2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
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