Best Places37861, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 37861, 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.
37861 ranks 25,043rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 37861
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.
37861's strengths and weaknesses
Where 37861 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 89% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 37861 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Household income$54,627 median, better than only 16% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 37861
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 37861 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,627, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 37861's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 37861
37861 runs older 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 37861.
Who works in 37861, and how
Work in 37861 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 37861
37861 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 37861 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 37861, month by month
37861 sees roughly 76 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 37861
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 160 miles away.
The best schools in and around 37861
Schools across 37861 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Joppa ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Jefferson ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Rutledge Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Rutledge Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Grainger High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 37861 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
37861 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 37861 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 37861
Is 37861 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 37861 ranks 25,043rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and low property taxes, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 37861 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,737. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $54,627 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 37861 safe?
37861 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $536 per resident a year.
Compare 37861 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 37861. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 37861 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.
37861 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 37861: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 37861: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 37861: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 37861: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
37861 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.