Best PlacesPaint Rock, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Paint Rock, 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.
Paint Rock ranks 16,151st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Paint Rock
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.
Paint Rock's strengths and weaknesses
Where Paint Rock ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of towns
Where Paint Rock ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- Short commute35.3 minutes each way, better than only 13% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Paint Rock
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Paint Rock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,620, 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 Paint Rock's effective rate of 0.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Paint Rock
Paint Rock runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Paint Rock.
Who works in Paint Rock, and how
Work in Paint Rock centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Paint Rock
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Paint Rock.
What the weather is like in Paint Rock, month by month
Paint Rock 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 Paint Rock
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around Paint Rock
Schools across Paint Rock average a B−, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Midway ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Steekee ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Ridge View ElementaryC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Midway Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Loudon High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Rockwood High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Paint Rock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Paint Rock 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 Paint Rock against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Paint Rock
Is Paint Rock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Paint Rock ranks 16,151st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, state finances, and civic engagement, and lowest on the weather and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Paint Rock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,907. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $78,620 median income, cost of living beats 72% of towns.
Is Paint Rock safe?
Yes, Paint Rock is safer than 57% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $372 per resident a year.
Compare Paint Rock with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Paint Rock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Paint Rock 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.
Paint Rock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Paint Rock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Paint Rock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Paint Rock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Paint Rock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Paint Rock 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.