Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oak Ridge grades C+ overall, ranked 69th of 175 in Tennessee, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 84% of Tennessee towns and it has 53 miles of trail and 57% conserved land. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 70% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $325K, 4.5 years of the Knoxville metro’s $72K median household income. 57% of the land in Oak Ridge is conserved, against 1.7% in Tennessee’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Oak Ridge has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Oak Ridge Historic District (Additional Documentation) and New Bethel Baptist Church.
Where Oak Ridge beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Linden Elementary | K–4 | 524 |
| Woodland Elementary | K–4 | 426 |
| Willow Brook Elementary | K–4 | 411 |
57.4% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Oak Ridge is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
X-10 Reactor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 27,169 in 1960, 31,402 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1936 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oak Ridge, 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 Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge draws workers from Knoxville and beyond, fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Tennessee.
Its 32,895 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Tennessee town. Its A for the outdoors ranks #1 of 177 in Tennessee.
53 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Haw Ridge Park, 1,012 acres with 12.5 miles of trail. Oak Ridge’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Haw Ridge Park | 12.5 mi | 1,012 |
| 2. A.K.Bissell Park | 2 mi | 39 |
| 3. Cedar Hill Greenway Park | 0.5 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Oak Ridge school district. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robertsville Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 768 | B+ |
| Oak Ridge High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,635 | B+ |
| Glenwood ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 372 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
40,862 jobs are based in Oak Ridge, 2.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Oak Ridge’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Oak Ridge has added 8,829 jobs, to 40,862 in 2023. 16% of Oak Ridge workers work from home.
| Oak Ridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 35% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 16% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 63% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
13% of adults binge drink in Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge beats the Tennessee average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Oak Ridge.
| Oak Ridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 41% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Oak Ridge | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 14.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.9% | 16.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 25.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 618 to 522 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Oak Ridge’s violent crime rate is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Oak Ridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.9 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Oak Ridge has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 29° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Tennessee average. Oak Ridge has grown 13% since 2020, to 35,395 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 40% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Oak Ridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 23% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.0, men 37.5.
| Oak Ridge | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.5% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.2% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Home values rose 42% in five years, to about $325K, against 23% across Tennessee.
The typical Oak Ridge home is worth about $325,000, up 1.8% in a year, close to the Tennessee typical home.
| Oak Ridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,131 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 2017, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oak Ridge.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Ridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
Big draw30 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
in town National Historical ParkManhattan Project National Historical Park56K visitors a year
21 mi LookoutSunsphere
16 mi State parkFrozen Head State Park
31 mi CaveCraighead CavernsNeyland Stadium: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Manhattan Project National Historical Park: Unknown, Public domain · Sunsphere: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frozen Head State Park: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0 · Craighead Caverns: Brenda, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Ridge
About 5 of every 100 Oak Ridge residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
Where Oak Ridge’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Oak Ridge on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Oak Ridge.
City in Tennessee, United States
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about 25 miles (40 km) west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak Ridge's nicknames include the Atomic City, the Secret City, and the City Behind a Fence. In 1942, the U.S. government forcibly purchased nearly 60,000 acres (240 km2) of farmland in the Clinch River valley for the development of a planned city supporting 75,000 residents. It was constructed with assistance from architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, from 1942 to 1943. Oak Ridge was established in 1942 as a produc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oak Ridge grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #69 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C for health, C for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
24 notable people were born here, including Megan Fox and Gore Verbinski.
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