Best PlacesDresden, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dresden, 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.
Dresden ranks 37,637th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dresden
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.
Dresden's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dresden ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 84% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of towns
Where Dresden ranks low
- Household income$46,517 median, better than only 9% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dresden
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dresden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,517, 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 Dresden's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dresden
Dresden 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 Dresden.
Who works in Dresden, and how
Work in Dresden centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Dresden
Dresden has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Dresden and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Dresden, month by month
Dresden sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Dresden
The nearest airport, McKellar-Sipes Regional, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dresden
Schools across Dresden average a B−, better than 61% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dresden ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dresden Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Martin Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Westview High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dresden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dresden 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 Dresden against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dresden
Is Dresden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dresden ranks 37,637th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, low taxes, and low property taxes, and lowest on low incomes and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dresden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $135,760. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $46,517 median income, cost of living beats 13% of towns.
Is Dresden safe?
Dresden is safer than 33% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $485 per resident a year.
Compare Dresden with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dresden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dresden 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.
Dresden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dresden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dresden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dresden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dresden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dresden 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.