Best PlacesOak Ridge, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oak Ridge, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oak Ridge ranks 983rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oak Ridge
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.
Oak Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oak Ridge ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of cities
- Cheap childcare$786 a month, better than 82% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of cities
Where Oak Ridge ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 10% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Oak Ridge
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oak Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,690, 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 Oak Ridge's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Oak Ridge.
Who works in Oak Ridge, and how
Work in Oak Ridge centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of cities and more parkland per resident than 87% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Oak Ridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oak Ridge, month by month
Oak Ridge sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Oak Ridge
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around Oak Ridge
Schools across Oak Ridge average a B+, better than 73% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Hardin Valley ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Linden ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Dyllis Springs ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hardin Valley Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Cherokee Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Midway Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Oak Ridge High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Hardin Valley AcademyB+ · 56% proficient
- Karns High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oak Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Oak Ridge suits
Common questions about living in Oak Ridge
Is Oak Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oak Ridge ranks 983rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, tree cover, and state infrastructure, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oak Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $282,809. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $79,690 median income, cost of living beats 66% of cities.
Is Oak Ridge safe?
Oak Ridge is safer than 42% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $445 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oak Ridge?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 29. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of cities.
Is Oak Ridge good for families?
Schools beat 73% of cities, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $786 a month.
Compare Oak Ridge with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oak Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oak Ridge 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.
Oak Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oak Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oak Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oak Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oak Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oak Ridge 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.