Best PlacesMcIllwain, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McIllwain, 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.
McIllwain ranks 43,048th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McIllwain
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.
McIllwain's strengths and weaknesses
Where McIllwain ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Cheap childcare$546 a month, better than 87% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 75% of towns
Where McIllwain ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of towns
- Household income$51,887 median, better than only 15% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McIllwain
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McIllwain home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,887, 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 McIllwain's effective rate of 0.52%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in McIllwain
McIllwain 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 McIllwain.
Who works in McIllwain, and how
Work in McIllwain centers on transportation & warehousing and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McIllwain
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McIllwain.
What the weather is like in McIllwain, month by month
McIllwain sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 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 | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of McIllwain
The nearest airport, McKellar-Sipes Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around McIllwain
Schools across McIllwain average a B−, better than 58% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Parsons ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Decatur County Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Camden Jr High SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Camden Central High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Riverside High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McIllwain school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McIllwain 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 McIllwain against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McIllwain
Is McIllwain a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McIllwain ranks 43,048th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and low taxes, 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 McIllwain expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $131,531. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $51,887 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is McIllwain safe?
McIllwain is safer than 31% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $497 per resident a year.
Compare McIllwain with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McIllwain. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McIllwain 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.
McIllwain detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McIllwain: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McIllwain: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McIllwain: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McIllwain: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McIllwain 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.