Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Signal Mountain grades A overall, 2nd of 175 graded towns in Tennessee. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country. The median household earns $141K and it reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $627K, 8.7 years of the Chattanooga metro’s $72K median household income. 73% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Signal Mountain, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 29%. On the outdoors, just 7 of Tennessee’s 292 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Prentice Cooper State Forest, at 52 acres.
Where Signal Mountain beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Signal Mountain | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.1% | 16.2% |
9.3% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Signal Mountain is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 441 in 1920, 8,852 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 5 maps from 1936 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Signal Mountain. Close and well known come first.
9 mi WaterfallRuby Falls
20 mi MountainLookout Mountain
6 mi Zoo & aquariumTennessee Aquarium
2 mi National Military ParkChickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park972K visitors a year33 mi CaveEllison's Cave
9 mi MuseumTennessee Valley Railroad MuseumRuby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Aquarium: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park: Lhughesw5, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: TVSRR at English Wikipedia. Photo by Jason Trew /TVSRR, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Signal Mountain, 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 Signal Mountain.
Signal Mountain has less food insecurity than most of Tennessee and is one of Tennessee’s best towns for the outdoors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Tennessee.
At 8.7 years of the Chattanooga metro’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $627K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Tennessee towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $3,877, against $1,442 across Tennessee, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
88% of households own their home in Signal Mountain. The typical Signal Mountain home is worth about $627,000, up 1.7% in a year, 89% above the Tennessee typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Hamilton County school district. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Signal Mountain Middle/High School, with 1,396 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 729 | A+ |
| Signal Mountain Middle/High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 1,396 | A |
| Thrasher Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 603 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 177 in Tennessee.
9.3 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Signal Mountain is 1.1 miles per square mile.
| Signal Mountain | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.3% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Gorge Park | 1.4 mi | 36 |
| 2. Prentice Cooper State Forest | 0.6 mi | 52 |
| 3. Signal Point Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Tennessee is food insecurity: 5.1% of its 6,424 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.2% statewide.
13% of Signal Mountain adults report frequent mental distress. Only 5 of the 176 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Signal Mountain. 11% of Signal Mountain adults report frequent physical distress.
| Signal Mountain | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 20% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 19% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Signal Mountain | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.1% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.9% | 13.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
Signal Mountain’s violent crime rate is 0.1 per 1,000 residents. Only 4 of the 134 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Signal Mountain.
| Signal Mountain | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
26.1% of workers work from home, against 12.9% across Tennessee.
Most working residents leave Signal Mountain for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Signal Mountain grew to 1,150 in 2023, 208 more than in 2013. Among 177 Tennessee towns, just 7 have a higher median household income than Signal Mountain.
| Signal Mountain | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $141,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Signal Mountain has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Only 7 of the 177 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower July high than Signal Mountain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Signal Mountain since 1982.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Signal Mountain
About 3 of every 100 Signal Mountain residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
7,554 counted in 2010 and 8,852 in 2020; an estimated 8,824 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 17.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Town in Tennessee, United States
Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge. "Signal Mountain" is used as a colloquial name for the part of Walden Ridge close to the town. The town population was 8,852 as of the 2020 census and estimated to be 8,567 in 2018.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Signal Mountain.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Mountain | #2 | A | C− | A | B | A+ |
| Fairmount | — | — | C | — | B | A |
| Walden | — | — | C− | — | B | A |
| Chattanooga | #137 | D | C | D− | B | C |
Fairmount and Walden have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Fairmount and Walden report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Signal Mountain with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Signal Mountain grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #2 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
