Best PlacesDouglas, Elizabethton, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Douglas, Elizabethton, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Douglas, Elizabethton ranks 4,705th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Douglas, Elizabethton
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.
Douglas, Elizabethton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Douglas, Elizabethton ranks high
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Douglas, Elizabethton ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$43,303 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Douglas, Elizabethton
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Douglas, Elizabethton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,303, 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 Douglas, Elizabethton's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Douglas, Elizabethton
Douglas, Elizabethton runs older 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 Douglas, Elizabethton.
Who works in Douglas, Elizabethton, and how
Work in Douglas, Elizabethton centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Douglas, Elizabethton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Douglas, Elizabethton.
What the weather is like in Douglas, Elizabethton, month by month
Douglas, Elizabethton sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Douglas, Elizabethton
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Douglas, Elizabethton
Schools across Douglas, Elizabethton average a C+, better than 51% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Harold Mccormick ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Valley Forge ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Happy Valley Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- T A Dugger Junior High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Elizabethton High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Unaka High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Douglas, Elizabethton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Douglas, Elizabethton 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 Douglas, Elizabethton against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Douglas, Elizabethton
Is Douglas, Elizabethton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Douglas, Elizabethton ranks 4,705th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Douglas, Elizabethton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,972. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $43,303 median income, cost of living beats 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Douglas, Elizabethton safe?
Yes, Douglas, Elizabethton is safer than 73% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $446 per resident a year.
Compare Douglas, Elizabethton with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Douglas, Elizabethton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Douglas, Elizabethton 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.
Douglas, Elizabethton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Douglas, Elizabethton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Douglas, Elizabethton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Douglas, Elizabethton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Douglas, Elizabethton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Douglas, Elizabethton 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.