Are You Sure You Want To Move Here? (Memphis, Knoxville: low income, apartment)
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Please be patient. I'm going to have to do this in more than 1 post.
I did a fresh comparison of 37 Tennessee towns/cities. Basically, this is for the people who still haven’t settled on where in Tennessee they want to live. The towns/cities are:
Knoxville
Chattanooga
Nashville/Davidson
Memphis
--------------------------
Alcoa
Brentwood
Bristol
Clarksville
Cookeville
Crossville
Franklin
Gatlinburg
Germantown
Greeneville
Harriman
Hendersonville
Jackson
Jefferson City
Johnson City
Kingsport
Kingston
LaFollette
Maryville
McMinnville
Morristown
Murfreesboro
Norris
Oak Ridge
Pigeon Forge
Pikeville
Seymour
Sevierville
Signal Mountain
Townsend
Tullahoma
White House
Winchester
Why these 37 towns? They were names I could think of off the top of my head. Why these many? I quit when I got tired of copying the data. For the sake of this effort, I will use the term city and town interchangeably.
After you look at this information, you really should look up the same information for the town/city where you live now. Some of these places may appear to have high/low numbers but you’d probably be surprised to find out the numbers for the town you live in now.
PEOPLE
AGE
When you decide on a town, you may be interested in where the young people live, if you are a younger person and where older people live if you are an older person.
Of the cities looked at, the youngest towns based on median age of its residents are:
1. Jefferson City 29.7
2. Clarksville 30.4
3. Murfreesboro 30.7
4. Cookeville 31.4
5. Memphis 33.4
Of the cities looked at, the oldest towns based on median age of its residents are:
1. Townsend 56.1
2. Gatlinburg 48.3
3. Signal Mountain 45.1
4. Norris 45.1
5. Oak Ridge 45
The national median age is 37.6.
MARRIED/SINGLE
Depending on whether you are married or single, you may be looking to live with people just like you:
Towns with the highest percentage of married people and are well above the National Average of 58.89% are:
1. Brentwood 75.30%
2. Germantown 72.39%
3. White House 71.69%
4. Signal Mountain 69.55%
5. Seymour 68.73%
Towns with the highest percentage of single people (not surprisingly, 4 of the 5 are Tennessee’s largest cities):
Women are 51.35% of the US population. There are only 3 towns on the list where the men outnumber the women. They are Cookeville, White House and Clarksville.
WHICH TOWN ON THE LIST HAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF HISPANICS?
Morristown, with 16.05% of its population, it’s higher than the national average of 12.73%
Next highest of the towns on the list: McMinnville, Nashville, Franklin and Cookeville.
HOW EDUCATED ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE TOWN?
Note: Only people over 25 are counted in the 3 categories (graduate degree, 4 year college degree, high school diploma/GED. Also, note that this section does not speak at all to the town’s educational system since people who live in the town and are over 25 are not necessarily people who went to school there. In other words, this category should not be used to determine where the best schools are located.
The national percent of people with graduate degrees is 7.16.
These towns on the list have the highest percentage of people with graduate degrees:
1. Brentwood 25.9%
2. Signal Mountain 24.77%
3. Germantown 22.39%
4. Norris 20.00%
5. Oak Ridge 18.25%
The national percent of people with 4 Year College degrees is 15.16.
These towns on the list have the highest percentage of people with 4 year college degrees:
1. Signal Mountain 39.5%
2. Brentwood 38.79%
3. Germantown 37.89%
4. Franklin 32.26%
5. Norris 23.5%
Which towns on the list have the lowest percentage of people with high school diplomas/GED?
La Follette, Pikeville, Harriman, Morristown, McMinnville.
These towns also have less than the national average of people with High School diplomas: Winchester, Sevierville, Bristol, Kingsport, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Cookeville, Greeneville, Jackson, Alcoa.
PT II - Voting, Religion, Weather, Crime and Health
VOTING AND RELIGION
Since it is unlikely that towns/cities would have the same percentages as neighboring towns. it appears that in both voting and religion categories, the data are probably gathered by county.
Voting
Which towns on the list have a higher percentage of Democrats over Republicans?
Only 3 on the list of towns are Democrat towns: Germantown (57.50%), Memphis (57.50%) and Nashville (54.78%)
All of the others are Republican dominant but where is the biggest gap between the 2 parties? In other words, where are the most Republicans?
Interestingly, although the US is 21.92% Catholic affiliated, of the towns on the list, the largest percentage of Catholics, are in the Franklin/Brentwood areas at only 11.34%. The next closest is Germantown/Memphis at 5.65%.
Protestant-affiliated is dominant across the board and although the numbers include all kinds of Protestant religions, the Tennessee percentages in each town far exceed the national Protestant percent of 19.12%.
Although the National average of those affiliated with Islam is .54%, in Tennessee the following locations on the list, exceed that percentage:
1. Nashville/Davidson 1.59%
2. Knoxville 0.94%
3. Chattanooga 0.65%
4. Johnson City 0.57%
There are no towns on the list where those affiliated with the Jewish religion exceed the national percentage of 2.16 percent. The closest is Nashville/Davidson at 1.05%.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
Poor people can’t stand to live near rich people and rich people can’t stand to live near poor people, or so I’ve read in the forums, so you should know the poorest and richest towns on the list. Note: Things that can decrease median household income numbers in towns (especially small towns) you wouldn’t necessarily eyeball as low income are a university/college in the town, a large concentration of retirees, a large military base.
The US median household income is $44,684.
Of the towns on the list, the highest median household incomes are:
1. Brentwood $130, 580
2. Germantown $104,129
3. Signal Mountain $75,679
4. Franklin $65,506
5. White House $59,246
Of the towns on the list, the lowest median household incomes are:
1. LaFollette $21,515
2. Pikeville $25,459
3. McMinnville $26,089
4. Harriman $26,630
5. Jefferson City $27,919
CRIME
I don’t know if these numbers are worth the page they are written on since crimes (especially property crimes) are not pursued the same across the board. Also, tourist towns and big cities with a lot of visitors tend to rate poorly because while the criminal act is counted, the visiting criminal is not counted in the town’s population, a factor used in calculating crime stats.
The first number is violent crime. The second number is property crime. 3/3 is the National average.
I strongly recommend that if this category influences your move, you look up the air quality of where you live now because you know what that score feels like and it will help you to assess whether these numbers are much better or worse than what you are used to. You might be very surprised. The numbers are based on EPA pollutant data. Higher numbers are better. Lower numbers are worse.
The US average Air Quality score is 48.
Worst - If you have allergies or asthma, think twice about these places on the list of towns:
Best – Where the air is best among the list of towns:
1. Pikeville 89
2. LaFollette 79
3. Crossville 73
4. Jefferson City 73
5. Seymour 72
IT TASTES LIKE COD LIVER OIL
This water info also comes from EPA data on 15 factors. You may notice that Tennessee does better overall with water quality compared to air quality. Higher numbers are better. Lower numbers are worse.
The US average Water Quality score is 55.
Worst on the list of towns for water quality:
1. Kingston 47
1. Harriman 47
1. Jackson 47
4. Chattanooga 50
5. Oak Ridge 54
Best on the list of towns for water quality:
1. McMinnville 101
2. Clarksville 101
3. Morristown 99
4. Johnson City 95
5. Greeneville 94
HOW HARD WILL IT BE TO FIND A DOCTOR IN THE TOWN?
Number of physicians per capita (doctors compared to number of residents then projected to 100,000). High numbers are better. Low numbers are worse.
The National Average is 169.7
Best of the towns on the list - Plenty of doctors to go around
1. Johnson City 615.2
2. Nashville/Davidson 504.2
3. Franklin 422.4
4. Brentwood 416.6
5. Knoxville 386.3
Worst of the towns on the list:
1. Pikeville 23.7
2. Kingston 66.7
3. Harriman 67
4. LaFollette 82.3
5. Jefferson City 88.9
WEATHER
YOU’RE ALL WET
Funny thing, people who are thinking about moving here are always asking about snow. What they should be asking about is rain (and potential flooding, driving on mountain roads in the rain, impact on traffic, etc.).
The US average rainfall is 36.6 inches per year.
Rain: Every Tennessee town on the list gets more than the US average. Of all of the towns on the list, Signal Mountain averages the most – 59.6 inches per year. Johnson City gets the least 42.1 inches per year. All other towns on the list fall in between.
BUT, I SOLD MY SHOVEL AT A YARD SALE
The US average snowfall is 25.2 inches per year.
Snow: Of the towns on the list, Crossville averages the most, 14.2 inches per year. Memphis and Germantown average the least, 1.1 inches per year. Does it all fall at once, in Crossville? I don’t know.
HOTTER THAN A PEPPER SPROUT
The US average July high is 86.5 degrees.
All love fever aside, Johnny Cash may have been hot in Jackson for a good reason. The average July high there is 90.5 degrees. Only Memphis, Clarksville and Germantown are higher with their 90.6 July high average temperature. The July high averages are pretty much within a four degree range across all of the towns on the list.
BUT, I’M FREEZING MY BUTT OFF
The US average January low is 20.8 degrees.
Well, on average, you’ll be colder (low 20’s) in Kingston, Harriman and Alcoa in January and I have no idea why. But if you are a cold temperature wuss, your best bet in January, from the towns on the list, is Maryville (30.4), Winchester (31.3), Germantown (31.1), Seymour (30.3), Knoxville (30.3), Chattanooga (34.2), Memphis (31.1), Signal Mountain (34.2) and McMinnville (30), with their January low averages of 30 degrees and above.
I realize these dollar numbers are changing rapidly, but where it is most cheap and most expensive (from the towns on the list) to buy a house, probably stay pretty much the same even when all prices go up.
US median home cost: $217,200
Most Expensive – Median Home Cost
1. Brentwood $437,300
2. Germantown $320,500
3. Signal Mountain $259,300
4. Franklin $258,700
I don’t know how much that is spent on each K-12 student per year equates to the quality of their education. I’m pretty sure it equates to the property tax. I also don’t know if it’s cheaper to educate students in one town in one state over another town in another state because it’s cheaper to do everything else in that state. You know, wouldn’t you expect it to cost more to educate a kid in Washington, DC than Sevierville, TN just because everything costs more in Washington, DC? So, when you go OMIGOD, we spent two times those amounts on our kids in NYC, shouldn’t you also be thinking how much more expensive everything else was in NYC? Why should the cost of education be different?
US National Average expense for each student per year - $6,058
Which Tennessee school districts on the list of towns spend more than the US average on each student?
Only 2: Oak Ridge ($7,490) and Nashville/Davidson ($6,518).
COST OF LIVING
Note: I have no idea why groceries or utilities cost more in one Tennessee town compared to another.
Cost of Living - Groceries
Where does it cost more at the supermarket?
Most Expensive of Towns On The List- Groceries
With a score of 100 being the US average, it costs more than the national average to buy groceries in these Tennessee towns on the list.
1. Jackson 106
2. Tullahoma 104.3
3. Winchester 103
4. Murfreesboro 102.4
5. Chattanooga 101.6
6. Signal Mountain 101.1
7. Franklin 100.7
8. Brentwood 100.3
8. White House 100.3
Least Expensive of Towns On The List – Groceries
With a score of 100 being the US average, it costs less than the national average to buy groceries in all other Tennessee towns on the list but these towns are the least expensive – grocery-wise.
Most Expensive of Town On The List- Utilities
(avg. cost of heating or cooling, gas and electricity)
With a score of 100 being the US average, there is only 1 town on the list where utilities cost more than the US average.
Tullahoma 106 (Why? I don’t know.)
Least Expensive of Towns On The List- Utilities
With a score of 100 being the US average, these towns are the cheapest of the cheap for utilities.
1. Cookeville 77
2. Jackson 78
3. Crossville 82
3. White House 82
5. Pikeville 83
5. Hendersonville 83
5. Germantown 83
Cost of Living – Housing
(Includes apartment rents, mortgage payments, property tax)
Most Expensive of The Towns On The List – housing
With a score of 100 being the US average, it’s more than the national average for housing costs in these Tennessee towns on the list.
1. Brentwood 210
2. Franklin 156
3. Germantown 128
4. Signal Mountain 120
Least Expensive of The Towns On The List – housing
With a score of 100 being the US average, it’s less than the national average for housing costs for all other Tennessee towns on the list. These places have the least expensive housing costs:
Just remember, on any of these factors, don’t get excited (up or down) until you take a look at the same categories for the town where you live now. PM me if you don’t know how to do that.
Thanks, Laura. You must have stayed up all night to do that! It does help to put things in perspective when you compare all of those ratings with one's current home town.
The problem is I don't know enough about Tennessee to interpret the numbers. I know nothing about Tullahoma (not even where it is) so it would take extra work to find out why they have utility rates that are higher than both the National average and 36 other places in Tennessee by a fairly big amount.
Another example - I don't know where any military bases are in Tennessee. That could account for towns with a low median household income, more men than women, younger median ages.
More important, I don't know enough about Tennessee to look at a number and know in my gut that it's wrong.
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