Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Chattanooga grades D overall, 137th among Tennessee's 175 graded towns, mostly because of safety. Its police reported 1,358 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 97% of U.S. towns. One bright spot: it has 181 miles of trail. 67% of working residents work locally in Chattanooga, above both Tennessee’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 5 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score higher on walkability. Its National Register listings include Brainerd Mission Cemetery and Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Where Chattanooga beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Brown's Ferry Tavern| College | Students |
|---|---|
| The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 10,079 |
| Chattanooga State Community College | 4,824 |
| Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers | 311 |
Its 89 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Tennessee towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,545 in 1860, 181,099 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1803 and 5 maps from 1936 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Chattanooga is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chattanooga. Close and well known come first.
in town WaterfallRuby Falls
16 mi MountainLookout Mountain
in town Zoo & aquariumTennessee Aquarium
in town MuseumTennessee Valley Railroad Museum
in town LandmarkChattanooga National Cemetery
in town MuseumHunter Museum of American ArtRuby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Aquarium: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: TVSRR at English Wikipedia. Photo by Jason Trew /TVSRR, Public domain · Chattanooga National Cemetery: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hunter Museum of American Art: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chattanooga, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Chattanooga.
Chattanooga draws workers from East Ridge and beyond and looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally, but it reports property crime at about twice the Tennessee rate.
Chattanooga’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, at 2,256 acres with 22.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 13% of the land in Chattanooga is conserved.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 13% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enterprise South Nature Park | 32.8 mi | 2,029 |
| 2. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park | 22.2 mi | 2,256 |
| 3. TVA Big Ridge Small Wild Area | 4.5 mi | 320 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Hamilton County school district. Three of its 73 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brainerd Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,177 | A− |
| The Howard SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,329 | D |
| Chattanooga School For The Liberal ArtsTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 979 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Property crime runs at 33.2 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Tennessee rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 11,027 to 7,796 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Chattanooga is 33.2 per 1,000 residents. Among 134 Tennessee towns, just 10 have a higher violent crime rate than Chattanooga. Chattanooga reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 33.2 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
176,670 jobs are based in Chattanooga, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.5 minutes, against 25.7 across Tennessee.
19% of Chattanooga residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Chattanooga has added 15,990 jobs, to 176,670 in 2023. The top destinations are Nashville (4%), Knoxville (2%) and East Ridge (2%).
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 67% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Chattanooga beats the Tennessee average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Chattanooga.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 29% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Chattanooga | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 8.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.4% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Chattanooga has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 31° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
680 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 101 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 680 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chattanooga.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (23% statewide). Chattanooga has grown 6.9% since 2020, to 194,144 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.3 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 18% | 18% |
51.6% women, 48.4% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.0, men 34.8.
| Chattanooga | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.5% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.7% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.5% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.5% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median property tax bill is $2,265, against $1,442 across Tennessee, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Chattanooga home is worth about $315,000, down 1.3% in a year, close to the Tennessee typical home.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,256 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Chattanooga
About 7 of every 100 Chattanooga residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
13% of the town is conserved land, across 83 parks and preserves.
89 places in Chattanooga on the National Register of Historic Places.
56 notable people were born in Chattanooga.
City in the United States
Chattanooga ( CHAT-ə-NOO-gə) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia to the south. The population was 181,099 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 191,496 in 2024. It is Tennessee's fourth-most populous city and one of the two principal cities of East Tennessee, along with Knoxville. It anchors the Chattanooga metropolitan area, Tennessee's fourth-largest metropolitan statistical area, as well as a larger three-state area that includes southeastern Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, and northeastern Alabama. Chattanooga was a crucial city during the American Civil War due to the multiple railr…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Chattanooga.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; East Ridge (C) is closest.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | #137 | D | C | D− | B | C |
| Harrison | #19 | A− | B | — | B | B+ |
| East Ridge | #99 | C | B− | C− | B | C |
| Lookout Mountain | — | — | D | — | B | A+ |
| Middle Valley | #38 | B | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Collegedale | #31 | B+ | C− | B+ | B | A− |
| Soddy-Daisy | #66 | C+ | B | — | B | C+ |
| Falling Water | — | — | B | — | B | B+ |
Lookout Mountain and Falling Water have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Harrison, Lookout Mountain, Middle Valley, Soddy-Daisy and Falling Water report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Chattanooga with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Chattanooga grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #137 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C for health, D− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($72,161 across the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
56 notable people were born here, including Bessie Smith and Ralphie May.
