Best PlacesDowntown Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga, 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.
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga ranks 3,723rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
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.
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute15.1 minutes each way, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
A household needs to earn about $228,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,043, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga.
Who works in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga, and how
Work in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga, month by month
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga sees roughly 61 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 Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
Schools across Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga average a C, better than 35% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Battle Academy For Teaching LearningB · 50% proficient
- Tommie F. Brown AcademyD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orchard Knob MiddleF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga 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 Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga
Is Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga ranks 3,723rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on crime and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $880,340. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $62,043 median income, cost of living beats 47% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga safe?
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga is safer than 4% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,395 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga 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.
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Chattanooga, Chattanooga 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.