Sell My Land in Cannon County TN - What Landowners Need to Know
Key Takeaways
- Tennessee assesses vacant land at 25% of appraised value: All real property in Tennessee—residential and vacant alike—falls under a uniform 25% assessment ratio set by state law, but farm and forest land enrolled in the Greenbelt program is assessed on its current-use value instead, substantially lowering the tax bill
- Cannon County's county property tax rate is $1.596 per $100 of assessed value: Per the Tennessee Comptroller's 2024 rate schedule, the county rate is $1.596, yielding an effective rate of approximately 0.40%, well below the national median of roughly 1.02%, according to Ownwell
- Population grew modestly from 14,506 in 2020 to roughly 15,100 in 2024: After holding near 14,000 through the 2010s, Cannon County has posted steady, slight growth as an outer exurb of the Nashville–Murfreesboro region, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates
How Can You Sell Land in Cannon County Tennessee?
Selling land in Cannon County, Tennessee is shaped by three forces: a state property tax system that taxes all real property at 25% of appraised value, a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of consideration, and the Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act—the "Greenbelt Law"—that offers significant tax relief for qualifying farm, forest, and open space land. When Greenbelt-enrolled property is sold, the buyer or seller may face rollback taxes stretching back three to five years, depending on the land's classification.
Cannon County sits on the eastern edge of Tennessee's central basin, where the rolling farmland of the Nashville region climbs onto the wooded slopes of the Highland Rim. It is bordered by Rutherford, Wilson, DeKalb, Warren, and Coffee counties. Woodbury serves as the county seat, roughly 55 miles southeast of Nashville and about 20 miles east of Murfreesboro. Much of the county's rural land is small-tract cattle pasture, hay ground, and hardwood timber, with the East Fork Stones River and Stones River tributaries threading between the ridges. It is a thin, quiet market—farms are small, sales are infrequent, and buyers for a given tract can be few.
For landowners considering a sale, this guide walks through the county's carrying costs, the closing process, how Cannon County stacks up against its neighbors, and your practical options for exiting a parcel. For the statewide picture first, see our Tennessee land selling guide.
What Are the Tax Costs of Holding Land in Cannon County?
Tennessee uses a uniform 25% assessment ratio for all real property categories, which differs from states like Mississippi that apply separate ratios to owner-occupied versus vacant land. The assessed value equals 25% of the county assessor's appraised value. Tax rates are then applied to that assessed figure.
Per the Tennessee Comptroller's 2024 rate schedule, the Cannon County property tax rate is $1.596 per $100 of assessed value. The resulting effective property tax rate across the county is approximately 0.40%, based on data from Ownwell—comfortably below the national median of roughly 1.02% and below Tennessee's own median of about 0.54%. Tennessee also levies no state income tax on wages, one reason land carrying costs here stay low relative to much of the country.
For a parcel with an appraised value of $100,000, the assessed value is $25,000. At the county rate of $1.596 per $100 assessed, the annual county tax would be approximately $399. That figure is modest in absolute terms but adds up year after year for pasture or woodland producing little or no income.
The Greenbelt Program: Lower Taxes, Deferred Liability
Tennessee's Greenbelt Law—formally the Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act of 1976—allows qualifying land to be assessed on its current-use value rather than fair market value. To qualify:
- Agricultural land: At least 15 acres of actual farm use, or as few as 10 acres if the farm produces $1,500 or more in annual gross farm income
- Forest land: At least 15 acres of managed timber
- Open space land: Requires a written agreement with a state or local government
The tax savings can be meaningful in Cannon County, where cattle, hay, and small-farm land is common and Greenbelt enrollment is widespread among working tracts. However, when Greenbelt land is sold or converted to a non-qualifying use, the new or former owner owes rollback taxes—the difference between taxes actually paid and taxes that would have been owed at full assessment—for up to three years on agricultural and forest land or five years on open space land, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. Rollback taxes can be a surprise cost for buyers unaware of the existing classification, so always verify Greenbelt status before closing.
Cannon County's Assessor of Property is Angela Schwartz, located at the Cannon County Courthouse, 200 W. Main St., Woodbury, TN 37190, phone (615) 563-5437.
If you're carrying land with delinquent taxes, see our guide on how to sell land with back taxes.
What Closing Requirements and Zoning Rules Apply in Cannon County?
Tennessee does not require an attorney to be present at real estate closings—transactions may be handled by title companies or closing agents. In practice, many rural land closings in middle Tennessee are completed by title companies or real estate attorneys acting as closing agents. The deed is recorded with the Cannon County Register of Deeds, Sandy Fletcher Hollandsworth, at the Cannon County Courthouse, 200 W. Main St., Suite 9, Woodbury, TN 37190, phone (615) 563-2041.
Tennessee's Realty Transfer Tax
Tennessee charges a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of consideration (the purchase price, or the fair market value if higher), per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. On a $50,000 land sale, that's $185 in transfer tax. Certain transfers are exempt—including transfers between spouses, certain corporate reorganizations, and gifts—but arm's-length land sales to third parties are fully taxable.
The tax is generally paid at closing and recorded alongside the deed. No separate county transfer tax applies in Cannon County.
Zoning and Land Use
Cannon County is a largely rural county with limited municipal zoning outside Woodbury and Auburntown. The county does not operate a comprehensive zoning ordinance across all unincorporated areas. Building permits are required for new construction, and septic and water availability drive what a rural parcel can actually support. Buyers and sellers should contact Cannon County's planning or building authorities to confirm specific requirements for their parcel's location.
The Highland Rim setting means many parcels carry terrain and soil constraints—wooded ridges, seasonal drainages feeding the Stones River forks, and pockets of thin, rocky ground—that may affect buildability regardless of zoning classification. Just as important on small rural tracts, legal road access is not guaranteed: some interior woodland and back pasture is reached only by shared farm lanes, easements across neighboring property, or no recorded access at all. Buyers interested in building, or even reliable entry, should confirm a legal access route and obtain a soil and site evaluation before purchase.
If your parcel is reached only by crossing someone else's land, our guide on the paperwork needed to sell land explains the documents that surface access and title issues. And if you've inherited the property and are unsure about title, our guide on how to sell inherited land walks through the process.
How Does Cannon County Compare to Neighboring Tennessee Counties?
Cannon County's population of approximately 15,100 (2024 estimate) reflects steady, modest growth from 14,506 at the 2020 census, after holding near 14,000 through the 2010s. The county lies just beyond the fast-growing Rutherford County exurbs, with U.S. 70S running east–west through Woodbury toward Murfreesboro and Interstate 24 to the west. That location gives Cannon a slow, spillover kind of growth without the development pressure of the counties nearer Nashville.
| Factor | Cannon County | DeKalb County | Warren County | Coffee County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2024 est.) | ~15,100 | ~21,700 | ~43,600 | ~61,300 |
| Population trend | Slight growth | Slight growth | Stable / slight growth | Growing |
| Effective tax rate | ~0.40% | ~0.63% | ~0.49% | ~0.59% |
| Distance to Nashville | ~55 mi | ~65 mi | ~75 mi | ~70 mi |
| Key economic driver | Agriculture, small manufacturing, commuting | Center Hill Lake recreation, agriculture | Nursery/greenhouse, manufacturing | Manufacturing, retail, agriculture |
| Closing attorney required | No | No | No | No |
Cannon County's economy leans on agriculture, a handful of small manufacturers, and residents who commute west to jobs in Murfreesboro and the wider Nashville metro. It remains one of the more rural, agriculturally oriented counties in the region, without a large industrial base or a tourism anchor. That thinness is exactly what makes its land market slow to move: there is no steady stream of outside buyers competing for tracts.
Small Farms, Cattle, and Hay
Cannon County's rural land is dominated by small working and part-time farms. According to the USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture county profile, the county had 582 farms across 90,171 acres, with an average farm size of just 155 acres—and most farms falling in the 10-to-179-acre range. Cattle and calves are the leading livestock, with roughly 11,960 head countywide, while forage and hay lead in planted acreage, followed by soybeans and corn. Nursery and greenhouse stock—a signature product of this middle-Tennessee corridor centered on nearby Warren County—also appears in the county's farm mix. Total market value of agricultural products sold was about $23.3 million.
If your tract is grazing ground or hay meadow, our guides on selling farmland and selling pasture or grazing land no longer farmed cover what agricultural buyers weigh.
Hardwood Timber and Wooded Ridges
Alongside its pasture, Cannon County carries substantial woodland—roughly 19,899 acres of the county's farm ground is classified as woodland in the 2022 Ag Census, and much more sits outside farm boundaries on the Highland Rim slopes. These hardwood ridges are valued for hunting, occasional timber harvest, and rural homesites. Many wooded parcels carry existing Greenbelt classifications for forest use, which means a buyer must weigh potential rollback exposure at sale.
If your land is timbered or hunted, our guides on selling timberland and selling hunting land cover what recreational and timber buyers look for. For the full picture of what drives land values, our land valuation guide explains the factors assessors and buyers weigh.
What Are Your Options for Selling Land in Cannon County?
Cannon County landowners face a familiar rural-Tennessee situation: small tracts of pasture, hay ground, and hardwood that may have been in the family for generations, Greenbelt classifications that made holding cheap for years, and a thin, slow-moving local market with few active buyers for any single parcel. Add the wrinkles common to small farm land—shared or unrecorded access, undivided heir interests, and terrain that limits where a house can go—and a given tract can sit unsold for a long time. If you own the land from out of state, those frictions multiply; our guide on selling land as an out-of-state owner covers the extra steps.
Before listing or accepting any offer, take these steps. Verify your deed and legal description through the Cannon County Register of Deeds (Sandy Fletcher Hollandsworth, 615-563-2041). Confirm the property's Greenbelt status and calculate potential rollback tax liability with the Cannon County Assessor (Angela Schwartz, 615-563-5437). Confirm there is a legal, recorded access route to the parcel. If the land has merchantable timber, a timber cruise from a registered forester will quantify the standing value. Check for any delinquent tax balance through the Cannon County Trustee (Norma Knox, 615-563-2282).
Sellers have several paths. Listing with a land-specialist agent gives exposure to farm and recreational buyers across middle Tennessee, but agent commissions of 5–6% plus the $0.37/$100 transfer tax reduce your net proceeds—and access or terrain issues can stall a listing for months in a market this thin. (Our guide on whether you need a realtor to sell land weighs that trade-off.) Online platforms—LandWatch, Lands of America—reach buyers hunting for small farms and wooded acreage within commuting distance of Murfreesboro and Nashville. For landowners who want a firm number fast, without months of showings and uncertain closing timelines, Jerez Land provides a direct cash offer for your land. Each offer is parcel-specific and made in writing; as the buyer, we absorb the carrying costs, marketing, terrain risk, and resale timeline—so the number you see is one number, with no commissions and a closing timeline measured in weeks, not months.
A direct cash sale will not be the highest theoretical price a perfectly marketed parcel might eventually fetch. What it offers instead is certainty and speed on land that is otherwise slow to move in a small rural market. If you need to understand the paperwork involved before you commit to any path, our blog covers what to expect at each stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sell vacant land in Cannon County TN?
Confirm your legal description and any existing Greenbelt enrollment with the Cannon County Assessor (615-563-5437) and verify clean title and legal access through the Register of Deeds (615-563-2041). Tennessee does not require an attorney at closing—a title company or closing agent can handle the transaction. You can list with a local agent, use online platforms like LandWatch, or request a direct cash offer from a land buyer like Jerez Land.
What is the property tax rate in Cannon County Tennessee?
Cannon County's property tax rate is $1.596 per $100 of assessed value, per the Tennessee Comptroller's 2024 schedule. All real property in Tennessee is assessed at 25% of appraised value, yielding an effective tax rate of approximately 0.40%, according to Ownwell—below the national median of roughly 1.02%. Land enrolled in Tennessee's Greenbelt program is assessed on current-use value instead, producing a significantly lower tax bill.
What is Tennessee's Greenbelt program and how does it affect a land sale?
Tennessee's Greenbelt Law (1976) allows agricultural land (15+ acres, or 10+ acres with $1,500+ in annual farm income), forest land (15+ acres), and open space land to be assessed at current-use value rather than fair market value. When Greenbelt land is sold or disqualified, rollback taxes are owed for up to three years (agricultural/forest) or five years (open space)—covering the gap between what was paid and what full-assessment taxes would have been, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. Always verify Greenbelt status before closing.
Does Tennessee charge a transfer tax on land sales?
Yes. Tennessee charges $0.37 per $100 of consideration on all publicly recorded realty transfers, per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409. On a $100,000 sale, the transfer tax is $370. Certain transfers—gifts, spousal transfers, corporate reorganizations—may qualify for exemptions. Cannon County does not levy an additional county-level transfer tax.
Is an attorney required to close a land sale in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee does not require a licensed attorney to be present at a real estate closing. Closings may be handled by title companies, closing agents, or attorneys. The deed is recorded with the Cannon County Register of Deeds after closing. Working with a title company that specializes in rural middle Tennessee transactions is advisable given the prevalence of Greenbelt classifications, small-tract access questions, and inherited or heir-owned property in the county.
Is Cannon County Tennessee population growing or declining?
Cannon County's population has grown modestly, holding near 14,000 through the 2010s and rising from 14,506 at the 2020 census to approximately 15,100 as of 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The slight growth reflects the county's position as a rural, affordable outer exurb of the Nashville–Murfreesboro region, drawing residents who commute west for work while the local economy stays rooted in agriculture and small manufacturing.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Always consult with qualified professionals before making land purchase decisions. Jerez Land is not responsible for actions taken based on this information.