Best PlacesObion County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Obion County, 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.
Obion County ranks 2,066th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Obion County
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.
Obion County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Obion County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 79% of counties
- Short commute20.2 minutes each way, better than 77% of counties
Where Obion County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Household income$54,804 median, better than only 16% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Obion County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Obion County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,804, 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 Obion County's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Obion County
Obion County 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 Obion County.
Who works in Obion County, and how
Work in Obion County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Obion County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Obion County.
Is Obion County growing, and who is moving in?
Obion County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Weakley County, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Obion County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Obion County, month by month
Obion County sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 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 | 71° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Obion County
The nearest airport, Barkley Regional, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Obion County
Schools across Obion County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Fulton ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Hillcrest ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Lake Road ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Martin Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Union City Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- South Fulton Middle / High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Obion County Central High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Union City High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Obion County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Obion County 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 Obion County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Obion County suits
Common questions about living in Obion County
Is Obion County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Obion County ranks 2,066th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on health outcomes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Obion County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $141,348. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $54,804 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Obion County safe?
Obion County is safer than 49% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $450 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Obion County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 31. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of counties.
Is Obion County good for families?
Schools beat 62% of counties, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Compare Obion County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Obion County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Obion County 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.
Obion County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Obion County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Obion County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Obion County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Obion County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Obion County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.