Best PlacesSevier County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sevier County, 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.
Sevier County ranks 1,322nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Sevier 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.
The best areas in Sevier County
The parts of Sevier County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Seymour & Kodak
Fewer homes sit empty, local pay stretches further, and prices have run up less.
Sevierville & Pigeon Forge
Tree cover is thinner and it is noisier.
Gatlinburg
Crime runs higher and advertised internet is slower.
Scores across Sevier County run from about the 8th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Sevier County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sevier County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 92% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of counties
Where Sevier County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 17% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 21% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 27% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sevier County
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sevier County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $66,621; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Sevier County's effective rate of 0.31%, 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 Sevier County
Sevier County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sevier County.
Who works in Sevier County, and how
Work in Sevier County centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Sevier County
Sevier County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sevier County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sevier County growing, and who is moving in?
Sevier County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Knoxville, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sevier County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sevier County, month by month
Sevier County sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Sevier County
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 155 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sevier County
Schools across Sevier County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Catons Chapel ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Pittman Center ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Boyds Creek Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gatlinburg Pittman Junior HighB · 43% proficient
- Seymour IntermediateB− · 42% proficient
- Seymour Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Seymour High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Northview Senior AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Sevier County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sevier County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sevier 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 Sevier County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sevier County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Sevier County
Is Sevier County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sevier County ranks 1,322nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, state finances, and fast internet, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sevier County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $297,596. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $66,621 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Sevier County safe?
Yes, Sevier County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $441 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sevier County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 31. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sevier County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Seymour & Kodak, Sevierville & Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Sevier County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sevier County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sevier 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.
Sevier County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sevier County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sevier County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sevier County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sevier County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sevier 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.