Best Places38301, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38301, 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.
38301 ranks 30,505th 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 38301
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.
38301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 38301 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 38301 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Household income$44,527 median, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 38301
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,527, 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 38301's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 38301
38301 runs younger 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 38301.
Who works in 38301, and how
Work in 38301 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 38301
38301 has more parkland per resident than 65% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 38301 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 38301, month by month
38301 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 38301
The nearest airport, McKellar-Sipes Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 38301
Schools across 38301 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Community Montessori SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- South ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- West Tennessee School For The DeafD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- West-bemis Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Northeast Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- North Parkway Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Madison Academic Magnet High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Jackson Central-merry Early College HighB+ · 55% proficient
- South Side High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
38301 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 38301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 38301 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 38301
Is 38301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38301 ranks 30,505th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and transit, and lowest on crime and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 38301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $129,730. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $44,527 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 38301 safe?
38301 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,103 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 38301?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 32. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of zip codes.
Is 38301 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 5%, and childcare runs $811 a month.
Compare 38301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38301 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.
38301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 38301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 38301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 38301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 38301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
38301 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.