Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Flat Top Mountain

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Tennessee›Hamilton County

Flat Top MountainTN

A town of 1,004.

Is Flat Top Mountain a good place to live?

The best of Flat Top Mountain’s subject grades is an A for the outdoors; the weakest is a D− for walkability. No town in Tennessee scores lower than Flat Top Mountain on walkability. The typical home is worth about $593K, 8.2 years of the Chattanooga metro’s $72K median household income. No town among the 178 in Tennessee we compare has a higher share of households owning their home than Flat Top Mountain. Flat Top Mountain’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, against 0.2 in Tennessee’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 2 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score lower on history. The biggest place to walk is Soddy Creek Resource Management Area, 687 acres with 6 miles of trail. Flat Top Mountain has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.

Small town

1,004 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns
Mowbray MountainSoddy-DaisyMowbray MountainSoddy-DaisyFlat Top Mountain

How Flat Top Mountain grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Flat Top Mountain is from typical.

How grading works

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Getting set up

Moving to Flat Top Mountain: who provides what

Flat Top Mountain is unincorporated, so Hamilton County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerCity of Chattanooga12.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterNorthwest Utility DistrictNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesHamilton CountyHamilton County provides services here
SchoolsHamilton County School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Tennessee you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereHamilton County Election CommissionHamilton County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code3737937379 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Flat Top Mountain.

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−

More than half of Flat Top Mountain’s working residents commute to Chattanooga

Most working residents leave Flat Top Mountain for work: only 0% work in town. At 33 minutes, Flat Top Mountain’s average trip to work is where Tennessee’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. The median household income in Flat Top Mountain is $121,000.

0%work in town
Flat Top MountainTennessee townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work33 minutes25 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$121,000$61,000$80,000
Below the poverty line15%14%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Flat Top Mountain0%
Chattanooga60%
Soddy-Daisy5%
Nashville4%
Knoxville4%
21 mi
median commute distance
8
jobs based in Flat Top Mountain
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 0% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Flat Top Mountain has mild winters and pleasant summers

Flat Top Mountain has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 30° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.

4″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter32–50°
Spring48–69°
Summer65–85°
Fall49–70°
Oct 29
typical first frost
Apr 7
typical last frost
+0.9°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B

Low risk in Flat Top Mountain, with inland flooding at the top

Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Flat Top Mountain.

36risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
36Low riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingTornadoesEarthquakes
3
paid flood claims since 2004

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

OutdoorsA

10.2% of Flat Top Mountain is conserved land

26 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.

10.2%conserved
10.2%
conserved · 1,128 of 11,036 acres
26 mi
of trails · 1.5 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Soddy Creek Resource Management Area6 mi687
2. Possum Creek Resource Management Area1.2 mi454

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

HealthC+

Health in Flat Top Mountain trails 58% of U.S. towns

Flat Top Mountain beats the Tennessee average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 33% of adults have obesity in Flat Top Mountain.

42%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
Flat Top MountainTennessee townsU.S. towns
Obesity (CDC PLACES)33%39%35%
Depression (CDC PLACES)29%29%23%
Get no exercise (CDC PLACES)23%28%25%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)19%20%17%
31 measures vs. Tennessee
6 better22 too close to call3 worse
What stands outFlat Top MountainTN
Fewer adults facing food insecurity11.3%16.2%
Fewer adults facing housing insecurity9.5%13.3%
More older adults who have lost all their teeth20.3%14.6%
Rhea Medical Center
18.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Nearby attractions

Ruby Falls and 15 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Flat Top Mountain. Close and well known come first.

All 26 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Ruby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: TVSRR at English Wikipedia. Photo by Jason Trew /TVSRR, Public domain · Tennessee Aquarium: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fall Creek Falls: Jsfouche, CC BY-SA 3.0

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Flat Top Mountain

16pages on Flat Top Mountain
After high school

Colleges nearby

1 within 15 miles of the center of Flat Top Mountain

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Flat Top Mountain for work

Where Flat Top Mountain’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

60% → Chattanooga Chattanooga 60% 5% → Soddy-Daisy Soddy-Daisy 5% 4% → Nashville Nashville 4% 4% → Knoxville Knoxville 4% 3% → Dayton Dayton 3% 3% → Cleveland Cleveland 3% Flat Top Mountain · 0% stay
8jobs based in Flat Top Mountain
0%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Flat Top Mountain

Census-designated place in Hamilton County, Tennessee

Flat Top Mountain is a census-designated place in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 561 at the 2020 census, up from 422 at the 2010 census.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
17 sq mi
Elevation
1,486 ft

Questions about Flat Top Mountain

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Flat Top Mountain, TN expensive?

Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.