Nashville Zoning Intelligence
Zoning, permitted uses, and development potential for Nashville, Tennessee. 90 districts with their permitted uses and building controls.
Explore Nashville parcels, zoning, and hazards
Search any Nashville address, inspect parcels and zoning on the live map, and ask the AI what you can build - right here.
Zoning districts are shown at zoom 15 and closer. Zoom out for the Nashville city outline and street context.
How is Nashville zoned?
Nashville regulates land through 90 zoning districts across a consolidated city and county, and the scale of the agricultural district dominates: roughly 122,841 acres, more than six times the largest residential district.
The residential system uses two parallel series that differ by one word. RS districts are single family and R districts are one and two family, both stating lot size at 5, 6, 7.5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 thousand square feet. RS10 covers roughly 18,714 acres and R10 about 16,448.
That pairing is the key to reading the map. RS10 and R10 share a lot size but not a permitted housing form, and confusing the two would misstate what can be built. The one and two family series covers a substantial share of the county, which is a meaningful amount of duplex capacity written into the zoning.
The multifamily districts state units per acre at 9, 15 and 20, covering roughly 7,352 acres together.
A Specific Plan district covers roughly 12,337 acres, so a large share of the county is governed by adopted plans.
Industrial Restrictive covers roughly 12,198 acres and an Industrial Warehousing And Distribution district about 6,797. This is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice - verify with the local planning department before acquisition.
Nashville, Tennessee Zoning Districts: What Do They Mean?
Zoning districts are areas regulated by specific laws that determine land use, building types, and development rules. Each district below shows its zone type. Nashville's ordinance does not state permitted uses as citywide flags, so they are read from each district's own table rather than summarised here.
| Zone Code | Zone Type | Area |
|---|---|---|
AR2A Agricultural District | - | 122,840.8 ac |
RS10 Single Family 10000 Square Foot Lot | - | 18,714.1 ac |
R10 One And Two Family 10000 Square Foot Lot | - | 16,448.5 ac |
RS40 Single Family 40000 Square Foot Lot | - | 13,808.8 ac |
What are the building controls in Nashville?
Setback, height, FAR, lot area, and density controls enforced across Nashville zoning districts.
- Building height
- Coverage
- Density
- FAR
- Front setback
- Lot
- Lot width
- Multi
- Pervious
- Rear setback
- Side setback
Other Tennessee cities
Nashville zoning: frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between RS and R districts in Nashville?
- RS districts are single family and R districts are one and two family, both stating lot size in thousands of square feet. RS10 and R10 share a lot size but not a permitted housing form.
- How much duplex capacity is there?
- The one and two family series covers a substantial share of the county, with R10 alone at roughly 16,448 acres, R20 at about 9,860 and R40 at roughly 9,468. That is a large amount of duplex capacity written into the zoning.
- How is multifamily zoned?
- Through districts stating units per acre at 9, 15 and 20, covering roughly 7,352 acres together. RM9 is the largest of them at about 3,439 acres.
- What is the Specific Plan district?
- A district covering roughly 12,337 acres where an adopted plan governs rather than the countywide tables. It is the sixth largest classification in the jurisdiction.
- How much industrial land is there?
- Industrial Restrictive covers roughly 12,198 acres and an Industrial Warehousing And Distribution district about 6,797, together nearly nineteen thousand acres.
Analyze any Nashville parcel in 60 seconds
Zoning, overlays, hazards, and what the code actually allows - in one place.
Book a demo →Zoning data is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice. Verify with the Nashville planning department before acquisition or design.