PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Chattanooga, TN-GA

39.3
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#338
of 387 metros
13%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Chattanooga ranks #338 of 387 US metros, ahead of 13% - carried by its childcare (69/100) and held back most by safety (4/100).

69
strongest: Childcare
67
then: Cost of Living
4
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Chattanooga sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 13th percentile higher than 13% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Chattanooga Life Score

Chattanooga's composite score of 39.3 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #338 of 387, ahead of 13% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Childcare (69/100) and Cost of Living (67/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (4/100) and Environment (17/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.5 (rent-RPP 76.5). BLS median salary $61,856, 261,210 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,390/mo (studio $1,211).

FBI UCR (TN): 602 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 15.3:1 ratio, 6.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,860/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (TN). Ranks #335-#341 below.

Dimension detail

How Chattanooga scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 67/100 (20%)
Wages 30/100 (20%)
Rent 39/100 (15%)
Safety 4/100 (15%)
Schools 49/100 (10%)
Childcare 69/100 (10%)
Environment 17/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,856
Avg Median Salary
$1,390
2BR Fair Market Rent
602
Violent Crime/100K (TN)
15.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,860
Infant Childcare/yr (TN)
26
Superfund Sites (TN)
261,210
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Chattanooga With...

Chattanooga vs Kingsport Compare → Chattanooga vs Morristown Compare → Chattanooga vs Memphis Compare → Chattanooga vs Wildwood Compare → Chattanooga vs Waterloo Compare → Chattanooga vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Chattanooga outranks 13% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#335 Gettysburg, PA 39.4 C-
#336 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 39.5 C-
#337 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 39.5 C-
#338 Chattanooga, TN-GA 39.3 C-
#339 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-
#340 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 39.1 C-
#341 Glens Falls, NY 39.0 C-

TN Metro Scores

Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Morristown, TN B- 49.3 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jackson, TN C+ 47.3 Johnson City, TN C+ 47.1 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN C 42.5

Using Chattanooga's Life Score

Chattanooga is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is childcare (69/100) and its weakest is safety (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Chattanooga head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Chattanooga lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Chattanooga's biggest strengths? ▼
Chattanooga's strongest dimensions are Childcare (69/100), Cost of Living (67/100), Schools (49/100).
What are Chattanooga's weakest areas? ▼
Chattanooga's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (4/100), Environment (17/100), Wages (30/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Chattanooga compared to the national average? ▼
Chattanooga's Regional Price Parity is 91.5 (8.5% less than national); rent RPP 76.5.
What is the average salary in Chattanooga? ▼
Chattanooga median salary: $61,856, 261,210 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Chattanooga's 39.3/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.