Best Places38024, TN Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38024, 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.

See the map of best neighborhoods

38024 ranks 21,008th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.

#21,008
of 33,110 zip codes
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
N/A
of 33,110 zip codes
Your rank
Set your priorities to see your rank

The best neighborhoods in 38024

Map of the best neighborhoods in the 38024 area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
Colorblind friendly off
Popular priorities:

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.

38024's strengths and weaknesses

Top 5%State finances
Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare 38024 with other zip codes.

Where 38024 ranks high

  • State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
  • Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 89% of zip codes
  • Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
  • Housing crash safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
  • Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of zip codes

Where 38024 ranks low

  • Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
  • Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
  • Health outlookBetter than only 15% of zip codes
  • Household income$57,162 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
  • Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes

What it costs to buy a home in 38024

A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38024 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,162, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.

Income to buy the median home
$44,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$1,018
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $168,834 home
Median rent
$783
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$861
Property tax$100
Homeowners insurance$56

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 38024's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in 38024

38024's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.

Median age
42
older than the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
19%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.4
below the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1822%
18 to 3420%
35 to 4919%
50 to 6420%
65 and older19%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 38024.


Who works in 38024, and how

Work in 38024 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.

Work from home
6%
below the national average
Unemployment
4.8%
about the national average
Job growth
+0.4%
/y 2019-2023, slower than the national pace

Largest industries

Manufacturing23%
Retail trade16%
Health care & social14%
Hospitality & food10%
Education8%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 94%
  • Work from home 6%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 1%

Life in 38024

38024 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 38024 and thins out in others, which the map shows.

Places to eat and drink
124
restaurants, bars, and fast food, about 47.2 per 10,000 residents, more than 66% of zip codes
Coffee shops
12
about 4.6 per 10,000 residents, more than 64% of zip codes
Parkland
134 acres
about 5.1 acres per 1,000 residents, more than 76% of zip codes

What the weather is like in 38024, month by month

38024 sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January48°39°32°
April72°61°52°
July90°81°72°
October74°62°52°

Flying in and out of 38024

The nearest airport, McKellar-Sipes Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 77 miles away.

Nearest airport
MKL
McKellar-Sipes Regional, about 40 miles
Airport size
Nonprimary
2 nonstop destinations
Average drive
58 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around 38024

Schools across 38024 average a B−, better than 59% of zip codes.

Top elementary schools

Top middle schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38024 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


38024 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 38024 against the other 33,109 zip codes.


Who 38024 suits

Families

Schools beat 59% of zip codes.

See the families priority ↑

Remote workers

6% already work from home.

See the remote-work priority ↑

Retirees

The weather beats 65% of zip codes.

See the retirees priority ↑


Common questions about living in 38024

Is 38024 a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38024 ranks 21,008th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and short commutes, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.

Is 38024 expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $168,834. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $57,162 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.

Is 38024 safe?

38024 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $611 per resident a year.

What is the weather like in 38024?

July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 32. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 65% of zip codes.

Is 38024 good for families?

Schools beat 59% of zip codes, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $564 a month.


Compare 38024 with other zip codes


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38024. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38024 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.

38024 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for 38024: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in 38024: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of 38024: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in 38024: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

38024 detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. 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.
  2. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  3. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  4. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  5. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  6. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  7. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  8. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  9. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  10. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  12. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.