Living in Oak Ridge, TN
Suburb in Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a suburb in Tennessee, home to about 32,000 people, with 450,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Oak Ridge a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Dog-friendly: 5 dog parks within 9 mi
- Strong healthcare: 4 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Low taxes: no state income tax, 0.79% property tax
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $327k and rents for $1,860 a month
👎 Cons
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Smaller job market: about 450,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer graduates: 39% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Oak Ridge ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Oak Ridge: common questions
What is the cost of living in Oak Ridge?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $327k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,860 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 93, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Oak Ridge?
Tennessee has no state income tax, and homeowners here pay about 0.79% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Oak Ridge safe?
Violent crime is close to the national rate (1.0× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Oak Ridge?
Public schools in Oak Ridge test close to the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 15 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Oak Ridge?
Oak Ridge has cool winters: winter days average around 49°F and summer days around 86°F, with roughly 4″ of snow a year.
Does Oak Ridge get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding, earthquakes and cold waves: 10 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.93 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Oak Ridge?
The nearest major airport is TYS, about 20 mi away.
How Oak Ridge scores
Each bar compares Oak Ridge with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Oak Ridge
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Tennessee.
Is Oak Ridge right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.