Best PlacesUnaka Springs, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Unaka Springs, 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.
Unaka Springs ranks 27,071st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Unaka Springs
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.
Unaka Springs' strengths and weaknesses
Where Unaka Springs ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
Where Unaka Springs ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Unaka Springs
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Unaka Springs home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,889, 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 Unaka Springs' effective rate of 0.46%, 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 Unaka Springs
Unaka Springs runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Unaka Springs.
Who works in Unaka Springs, and how
Work in Unaka Springs centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Unaka Springs
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Unaka Springs.
What the weather is like in Unaka Springs, month by month
Unaka Springs sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 37° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Unaka Springs
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around Unaka Springs
Schools across Unaka Springs average a C+, better than 42% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Love Chapel ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Temple Hill ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Unicoi Co Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Unicoi Co High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Unaka Springs school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Unaka Springs 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 Unaka Springs against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Unaka Springs
Is Unaka Springs a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Unaka Springs ranks 27,071st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Unaka Springs expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,120. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $60,889 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is Unaka Springs safe?
Unaka Springs is safer than 54% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $377 per resident a year.
Compare Unaka Springs with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Unaka Springs. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Unaka Springs 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.
Unaka Springs detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Unaka Springs: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Unaka Springs: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Unaka Springs: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Unaka Springs: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Unaka Springs 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.