Best PlacesElizabethton, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elizabethton, 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.
Elizabethton ranks 1,839th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Elizabethton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elizabethton ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of cities
- QuietBetter than 97% of cities
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 97% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of cities
Where Elizabethton ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of cities
- Household income$51,275 median, better than only 2% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 7% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Elizabethton
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elizabethton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,275, 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 Elizabethton's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elizabethton
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 Elizabethton.
Who works in Elizabethton, and how
Work in Elizabethton centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Elizabethton
Elizabethton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of cities and more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Elizabethton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Elizabethton, month by month
Elizabethton sees roughly 67 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 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 Elizabethton
Schools across Elizabethton average a C+, better than 33% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- West Side ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Harold Mccormick ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- East Side ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Bell Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Happy Valley Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- T A Dugger Junior High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Unicoi Co High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Elizabethton High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Sullivan East High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elizabethton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Elizabethton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Elizabethton suits
Common questions about living in Elizabethton
Is Elizabethton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elizabethton ranks 1,839th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elizabethton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $174,845. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $51,275 median income, cost of living beats 4% of cities.
Is Elizabethton safe?
Elizabethton is safer than 44% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $431 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Elizabethton?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 27. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of cities.
Is Elizabethton good for families?
Schools beat 33% of cities, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Compare Elizabethton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elizabethton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Elizabethton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elizabethton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elizabethton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elizabethton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elizabethton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.