Tennessee’s College Town

The road to success depends on where you begin, and Cookeville is a great place to start! Voted the number one greatest affordable college town in the country by Great Values Colleges, Cookeville is a growing town of 30,000-plus, which serves as the seat of Putnam County and the central hub of the 14-county Upper Cumberland region. Cookeville’s convenient location off Interstate 40 is approximately 82 miles east of Nashville, 109 miles west of Knoxville and 96 miles north of Chattanooga – making it close to visit family on school breaks.

People from around the area come to Cookeville to eat, shop and play. Students can enjoy a variety of activities and places, including natural parks, the arts, going out for a movie at the theater or enjoying a night out with friends. The city is located within an hour of 10 state parks and minutes to three lakes — Dale Hollow, Center Hill and Cordell Hull. Students can swim, hike, canoe, boat, fish, hunt, backpack, picnic and camp to their heart’s content. Students also won’t have to give up seeing live music and arts in this town. There’s a drama center, a university-based symphony, art galleries, museums and a world-renown craft center just down the road. And don’t forget the good food! Cookeville has hidden gems like Cream City, Poet’s Coffee, Ralph’s Donuts and Crawdaddy’s.