Best Places38104, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38104, 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.
38104 ranks 18,054th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 38104
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.
38104's strengths and weaknesses
Where 38104 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 38104 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 38104
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38104 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,127, 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 38104's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 38104
38104's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 38104.
Who works in 38104, and how
Work in 38104 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 38104
38104 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 38104 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 38104, month by month
38104 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 79° | 66° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 38104
Memphis International sits about 6 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 38104
Schools across 38104 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Idlewild ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Snowden Elementary/middleD+ · 24% proficient
- Vollentine ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maxine Smith Steam AcademyA+ · 68% proficient
- Bellevue MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 70% proficient
- Central HighC− · 27% proficient
- Hollis F. Price Middle CollegeD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38104 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
38104 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 38104 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 38104 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 38104
Is 38104 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38104 ranks 18,054th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and transit, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 38104 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,706. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $67,127 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 38104 safe?
38104 is safer than 1% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,727 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 38104?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 32. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of zip codes.
Is 38104 good for families?
Schools beat 36% of zip codes, crime safety beats 1%, and childcare runs $811 a month.
Compare 38104 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38104. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38104 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.
38104 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 38104: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 38104: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 38104: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 38104: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
38104 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.