Best Places37604, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 37604, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
37604 ranks 16,128th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 37604
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
37604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 37604 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 37604 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Household income$57,650 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 37604
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 37604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,650, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 37604's effective rate of 0.61%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 37604
37604 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 37604.
Who works in 37604, and how
Work in 37604 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 37604
37604 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 71% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 37604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 37604, month by month
37604 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 37604
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 111 miles away.
The best schools in and around 37604
Schools across 37604 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Towne Acres ElementaryA+ · 90% proficient
- Woodland ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- South Side ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Indian Trail Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Liberty Bell Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Happy Valley Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Science Hill High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Unaka High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 37604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
37604 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 37604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 37604 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 37604
Is 37604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 37604 ranks 16,128th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 37604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,397. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $57,650 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 37604 safe?
37604 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $464 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 37604?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 27. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of zip codes.
Is 37604 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $809 a month.
Compare 37604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 37604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 37604 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
37604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 37604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 37604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 37604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 37604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
37604 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.