Best Places38139, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38139, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
38139 ranks 1,364th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 38139
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.
38139's strengths and weaknesses
Where 38139 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$191,813 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 38139 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 29% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 38139
A household needs to earn about $162,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38139 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $191,813, 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 38139's effective rate of 0.95%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 38139
38139 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 38139.
Who works in 38139, and how
Work in 38139 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 38139
38139 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 38139 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 38139, month by month
38139 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 40° | 33° |
| April | 72° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 38139
Memphis International sits about 13 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 38139
Schools across 38139 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dogwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Farmington Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Forest Hill Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Houston Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Germantown MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Houston High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Germantown HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38139 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
38139 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 38139 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 38139
Is 38139 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38139 ranks 1,364th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on disaster risk and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 38139 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $606,783. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $191,813 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 38139 safe?
38139 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $569 per resident a year.
Compare 38139 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38139. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38139 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.
38139 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 38139: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 38139: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 38139: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 38139: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
38139 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.