We saw this east of our office in north Springdale.
Posted by NWADG on Wednesday, March 25, 2015
With the lowest jobless rate and the second lowest crime rate of any city in Tennessee, Signal Mountain is rated the best place in Tennessee in a new study of Tennessee communities.
Movoto Real Estate, a nationwide real estate company with offices in 30 states, judged Signal Mountain to be the best city among Tennessee municipalities with more than 5,000 residents.
"With a population of just over 7,700, Signal Mountain is one of the three smallest places on our list; but this certainly does not mean it is lacking in benefits," Movoto content editor David Cross writes about the Chattanooga suburb in a blog posted today. "In fact, the only area where Signal Mountain seems to be lacking is in its crime rate."
Signal Mountain's crime rate of 708 incidents per 100,000 residents is only a fraction of the rate in nearby Chattanooga or Crossville, Movoto researchers found.
Signal Mountain also came in near the top of its class in education, with a high school diploma attainment rate of 96 percent. Only the Memphis suburb of Arlington had a higher high school graduation rate among its residents.
There is a cost to living in an attractive place like Signal Mountain. The average rent of $1,240 a month was among the highest in Tennessee.
"This may not be great for renters, but it certainly indicates that people are willing to pay top dollar to live in this great location," Cross said.
Only 0.3 percent of the population of Signal Mountain was unemployed in the most recent government report - the lowest rate of any Tennessee city.
Movoto rated 105 cities according to seven indicators to develop its list of best places. The top cities are:
1) Signal Mountain
2) Brentwood
3) Germantown
4) Farragut
5) Lakeland
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press