Best PlacesCatoosa County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Catoosa County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Catoosa County ranks 1,156th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Catoosa County
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.
The best areas in Catoosa County
The parts of Catoosa County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Ringgold
It is quieter, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Tunnel Hill
Tree cover is thicker and more households have young kids.
Rossville & Lakeview
Heat risk is higher and fewer adults hold degrees.
Fort Oglethorpe
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Scores across Catoosa County run from about the 8th to the 90th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Catoosa County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Catoosa County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 77% of counties
Where Catoosa County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 23% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Catoosa County
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Catoosa County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,800, 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 Catoosa County's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Catoosa County
Catoosa County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Catoosa County.
Who works in Catoosa County, and how
Work in Catoosa County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Catoosa County
Catoosa County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Catoosa County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Catoosa County growing, and who is moving in?
Catoosa County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Chattanooga, TN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Catoosa County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Catoosa County, month by month
Catoosa County sees roughly 62 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, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 64° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Catoosa County
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around Catoosa County
Schools across Catoosa County average a C+, better than 49% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Boynton Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Woodstation Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Graysville Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Heritage Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Ringgold Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Lakeview Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Heritage High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Ringgold High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Catoosa County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Catoosa County 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 Catoosa County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Catoosa County suits
Families
Schools land around the 49th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Catoosa County
Is Catoosa County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Catoosa County ranks 1,156th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and few empty homes, and lowest on the weather and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Catoosa County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $254,550. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $78,800 median income, cost of living beats 84% of counties.
Is Catoosa County safe?
Yes, Catoosa County is safer than 70% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $269 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Catoosa County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 32. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Catoosa County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Ringgold, Tunnel Hill, and Rossville & Lakeview. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Catoosa County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Catoosa County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Catoosa County 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.
Catoosa County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Catoosa County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Catoosa County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Catoosa County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Catoosa County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Catoosa County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.