Best PlacesClifton, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clifton, 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.
Clifton ranks 36,254th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Clifton
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.
Clifton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clifton ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 84% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of towns
Where Clifton ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Clifton
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clifton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,572, 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 Clifton's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clifton
Clifton runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clifton.
Who works in Clifton, and how
Work in Clifton centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 40%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Clifton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Clifton.
What the weather is like in Clifton, month by month
Clifton sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, 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 | 52° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Clifton
The nearest airport, Northwest Alabama Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clifton
Schools across Clifton average a D+, better than 16% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Northside ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Linden ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Decaturville ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Decatur County Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Hardin County Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Linden Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Hardin County High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Riverside High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Wayne County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clifton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clifton 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 Clifton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Clifton
Is Clifton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clifton ranks 36,254th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and low taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clifton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $109,597. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $70,572 median income, cost of living beats 42% of towns.
Is Clifton safe?
Clifton is safer than 14% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $675 per resident a year.
Compare Clifton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clifton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clifton 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.
Clifton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clifton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clifton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clifton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clifton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clifton 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.