Best PlacesHighland Park, Chattanooga, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Chattanooga ranks 3,934th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Chattanooga's strengths and weaknesses
Where Highland Park, Chattanooga ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.0 minutes each way, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$811 a month, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Highland Park, Chattanooga ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Highland Park, Chattanooga
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Highland Park, Chattanooga home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,606, 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 Highland Park, Chattanooga's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Highland Park, Chattanooga
Highland Park, Chattanooga runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Highland Park, Chattanooga.
Who works in Highland Park, Chattanooga, and how
Work in Highland Park, Chattanooga centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Highland Park, Chattanooga
Highland Park, Chattanooga has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Highland Park, Chattanooga and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Highland Park, Chattanooga, month by month
Highland Park, 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 Highland Park, Chattanooga
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around Highland Park, Chattanooga
Schools across Highland Park, Chattanooga average a C−, better than 26% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- East Side ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- Chattanooga Charter School Of ExcellenceF · 6% proficient
- Orchard Knob ElementaryF · 3% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chattanooga Charter School Of Excellence MiddleF · 9% proficient
- Orchard Knob MiddleF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Chattanooga Girls Leadership AcademyC− · 27% proficient
- Chattanooga Preparatory SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Highland Park, Chattanooga school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Highland Park, 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 Highland Park, Chattanooga against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Highland Park, Chattanooga
Is Highland Park, Chattanooga a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Highland Park, Chattanooga ranks 3,934th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Highland Park, Chattanooga expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $283,104. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,606 median income, cost of living beats 41% of neighborhoods.
Is Highland Park, Chattanooga safe?
Highland Park, Chattanooga is safer than 19% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $902 per resident a year.
Compare Highland Park, Chattanooga with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Highland Park, Chattanooga. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Chattanooga detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Highland Park, Chattanooga: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Highland Park, Chattanooga: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Highland Park, Chattanooga: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Highland Park, Chattanooga: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Highland Park, 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.