Nashville’s parking costs vary enough that two people can park on the same block, pay dramatically different amounts, and both be making rational decisions. The difference comes down to whether you know the system.
On-Street Meters: Current Rates (as of April 2025)
Nashville overhauled its parking rate structure in April 2025, moving from a flat $2.25/hour with a strict 2-hour limit to a tiered system with a 10-hour maximum.
Central Business District (downtown and SoBro): Enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including evenings and Sundays. Free evening and Sunday parking in the CBD was eliminated in February 2023. Current rate: $2.00/hour for the first two hours, $5.00/hour for hours three and four, $6.00/hour for five to ten hours. A full 10-hour street park costs $50.
Non-CBD metered areas (Midtown, West End, Germantown, 12 South, Hillsboro Village): Enforced from 6 AM to midnight, seven days a week. Rate: $2.00/hour for the first two hours, increasing on the same tiered schedule above that. Economy Zone 9 (Edgehill and select underutilized areas) charges $1.00/hour for all sessions.
The practical shift: there is no longer a hard 2-3 hour limit that forces you to move your car. You can now pay to stay longer, though the tiered pricing makes extended street parking expensive.
Metro-Owned Garages
Nashville’s two Metro-operated downtown garages are consistently the most affordable covered parking in the core.
Library Garage (151 6th Ave N): All-day maximum of $20. Evening and weekend rate runs $5 to $10. This is the best-value garage for a Broadway trip.
Metro Courthouse/Public Square Garage (101 James Robertson Pkwy): $5 on evenings and weekends. Bumps to $15 on Titans game days and Nissan Stadium events.
Metro-owned garages range from $3 to $20 for all-day parking, with event rates of $10 to $15.
Major Private Garages
Music City Center Garage (701 Demonbreun St): Nashville’s largest covered downtown facility at 1,800 spaces. As of June 2025: $15 for up to 5 hours, $20 for up to 9 hours, $25 for up to 12 hours, $30 for up to 18 hours, $45 overnight.
Fifth + Broadway Garage (598B Broadway): Rates vary, managed through the Metropolis app. Positioned directly underneath the building, making it convenient but heavily used on weekend evenings.
One Nashville Place (158 4th Ave N): $6 for up to 1 hour, $12 for 2 hours, $17 for 3 hours, $20 for 3 to 5 hours, $30 for a full day.
5th Avenue of the Arts Garage: $10 per hour, daily maximum $20.
Private garages in the Broadway corridor generally range from $10 to $30 daily depending on time of day and whether there is an event.
Event and Weekend Premium
The Broadway-adjacent private surface lots are where the real variation happens. On non-event weeknights you might find $10 to $15 rates. On a sold-out Bridgestone Arena show or a Predators playoff game, those same lots charge $30 to $50 and fill within an hour of doors opening. The closer to the venue, the higher the premium.
Pre-booking through apps like SpotHero or ParkWhiz locks in a rate before prices surge and guarantees a space. On event nights this is the most cost-effective strategy for anyone driving in. You pay the pre-event rate rather than the walk-up rate, and you do not waste twenty minutes circling.
Hotel Parking
Hotel parking downtown ranges from $20 to $35 per night for valet or self-park at most major properties. Over a three-night stay, that adds $60 to $105 to your trip cost. If your hotel charges $30 per night and you can find the Library Garage at $10 per night, the garage saves you $60 over a long weekend. It requires a two-block walk.
Monthly Parking
For residents and long-term commuters, monthly parking in downtown Nashville averages around $230, though options range from $50 at surface lots further from the core to $250 and above at covered garages near Broadway and Bridgestone. The McKendree Garage offers monthly rates at $175 through the Metropolis app.
The Bottom Line
A daytime or evening visit with three to four hours of parking: $6 to $15 in a Metro garage.
A street meter for two hours in the CBD: $4 flat.
A full evening at a CBD street meter (four hours): $14 ($2 x 2 hrs + $5 x 2 hrs).
A full concert night at Bridgestone Arena: $20 to $35 in a pre-booked private garage, $30 to $50 if you show up at the door.
Hotel parking for a three-night stay: $60 to $105 added to your trip.
Sources
- Metro Nashville Paid Parking rates: nashville.gov/departments/transportation/traffic-and-parking/parking/paid-parking
- WSMV: “Free Sunday, overnight parking eliminated in Downtown Nashville,” February 2023
- WSMV: “Major changes being rolled out across Nashville’s street parking system,” April 2025 (tiered rates)
- Fox17: “Nashville rolls out new parking rate changes,” April 2025
- Nashville Downtown Partnership: nashvilledowntown.com/get-around/nashville-parking
- Music City Center Garage rates (effective June 2025): nashvillemcc.com/maps-and-parking
- SpotAngels, Downtown Nashville monthly parking data (January 2026): spotangels.com
- Neighbor.com, monthly parking averages for Nashville: neighbor.com