Best Places37738, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 37738, 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.
37738 ranks 23,829th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 37738
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.
37738's strengths and weaknesses
Where 37738 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 37738 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 37738
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 37738 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,894, 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 37738's effective rate of 0.28%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 37738
37738 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 37738.
Who works in 37738, and how
Work in 37738 centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 37738
37738 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 99% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 37738 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 37738, month by month
37738 sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 37738
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 146 miles away.
The best schools in and around 37738
Schools across 37738 average a B−, better than 56% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Catlettsburg Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Swain County East ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Sevierville IntermediateC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swain County Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Gatlinburg Pittman Junior HighB · 43% proficient
- Seymour Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Seymour High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Northview Senior AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Swain County High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 37738 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
37738 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 37738 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 37738
Is 37738 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 37738 ranks 23,829th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 37738 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $362,369. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $59,894 median income, cost of living beats 19% of zip codes.
Is 37738 safe?
37738 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $954 per resident a year.
Compare 37738 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 37738. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 37738 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.
37738 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 37738: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 37738: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 37738: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 37738: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
37738 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.