Best PlacesShelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis, 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.
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis ranks 5,823rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
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.
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$811 a month, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD−, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,855, 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 Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis' effective rate of 1.04%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis.
Who works in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis, and how
Work in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis has more parkland per resident than 83% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis, month by month
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 41° | 34° |
| April | 72° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
Memphis International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
Schools across Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis average a D−, better than 6% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Bartlett Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Rivercrest ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- E.e. Jeter Elementary/middleB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Craigmont MiddleD− · 15% proficient
- Grandview Heights Middle SchoolF · 12% proficient
- Woodstock Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Bartlett High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Millington Central Middle High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Trezevant HighD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis 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 Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis suits
Common questions about living in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis
Is Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis ranks 5,823rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $121,121. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $45,855 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis safe?
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis is safer than 4% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,908 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 34. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of neighborhoods.
Is Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis good for families?
Schools beat 6% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $811 a month.
Compare Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis 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.
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Shelby Forest-Frayser, Memphis 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.