Best PlacesUnicoi County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Unicoi County, 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.
Unicoi County ranks 2,109th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Unicoi 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.
Unicoi County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Unicoi County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of counties
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 80% of counties
Where Unicoi County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of counties
- Household income$57,011 median, better than only 20% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Unicoi County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Unicoi County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,011, 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 Unicoi County'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, 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 Unicoi County
Unicoi County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Unicoi County.
Who works in Unicoi County, and how
Work in Unicoi County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Unicoi County
Unicoi County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Unicoi County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Unicoi County growing, and who is moving in?
Unicoi County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Johnson City, TN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Unicoi County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Unicoi County, month by month
Unicoi County sees roughly 69 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 Unicoi County
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Unicoi County
Schools across Unicoi County average a C+, better than 45% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Love Chapel ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Rock Creek ElementaryC · 35% 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 Unicoi County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Unicoi 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 Unicoi County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Unicoi County
Is Unicoi County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Unicoi County ranks 2,109th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, state finances, and tree cover, and lowest on health outcomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Unicoi County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,798. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $57,011 median income, cost of living beats 14% of counties.
Is Unicoi County safe?
Unicoi County is safer than 53% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $425 per resident a year.
Compare Unicoi County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Unicoi County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Unicoi 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.
Unicoi County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Unicoi County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Unicoi County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Unicoi County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Unicoi County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Unicoi 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.