Best PlacesSykes, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sykes, 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.
Sykes ranks 18,022nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sykes
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.
Sykes' strengths and weaknesses
Where Sykes ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 84% of towns
Where Sykes ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 23% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Sykes
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sykes home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,259, 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 Sykes' effective rate of 0.36%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sykes
Sykes runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sykes.
Who works in Sykes, and how
Work in Sykes centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Sykes
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Sykes.
What the weather is like in Sykes, month by month
Sykes sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 37° | 28° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 46° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 73° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Sykes
Nashville International sits about 38 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.6 million passengers in 2025, with 158 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Sykes
Schools across Sykes average a C, better than 38% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Gordonsville Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Gordonsville High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sykes school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sykes 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 Sykes against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Sykes
Is Sykes a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sykes ranks 18,022nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, few empty homes, and low property taxes, and lowest on the weather and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sykes expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $263,260. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $85,259 median income, cost of living beats 73% of towns.
Is Sykes safe?
Yes, Sykes is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare Sykes with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sykes. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sykes 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.
Sykes detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sykes: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sykes: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sykes: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sykes: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sykes 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.