Best PlacesFulton, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fulton, 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.
Fulton ranks 32,156th 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 Fulton
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.
Fulton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fulton ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- QuietBetter than 92% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 84% of towns
Where Fulton ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of towns
- School gradeD−, better than only 5% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fulton
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fulton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,055, 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 Fulton's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 Fulton
Fulton runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fulton.
Who works in Fulton, and how
Work in Fulton centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Fulton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Fulton.
What the weather is like in Fulton, month by month
Fulton sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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 | 72° | 60° | 51° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 74° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Fulton
Memphis International sits about 43 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Fulton
Schools across Fulton average a D−, better than 5% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Fulton ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ripley Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Union City High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Ripley High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fulton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fulton 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 Fulton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fulton
Is Fulton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fulton ranks 32,156th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and tree cover, and lowest on civic engagement and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fulton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $113,273. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $74,055 median income, cost of living beats 65% of towns.
Is Fulton safe?
Yes, Fulton is safer than 59% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
Compare Fulton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fulton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fulton 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.
Fulton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fulton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fulton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fulton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fulton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fulton 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.