37404Chattanooga, Tennessee

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 37404.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 5,298 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 47% of 6,210 published ZIP areas56
Schools4344th of 4,422 published ZIP areas10
GrowthTop 21% of 5,428 published ZIP areas66
Housing affordability4222nd of 6,685 published ZIP areas71
ClimateTop 39% of 6,789 published ZIP areas73
Physical resilience3389th of 6,709 published ZIP areas58
Access6610th of 6,791 published ZIP areas46
Economic stability5869th of 6,742 published ZIP areas34
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $56,637, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published ZIP profiles.

993 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 23% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.5 times that income.

At a glance

Population
14,737
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,637
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
2,844/sq mi
5.2 sq mi of land
Median age
34.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Chattanooga
Tennessee
Metro area
Chattanooga, TN-GA
Nearest major airport
HSV
89 mi · Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld
Median home value
$255,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 68% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 95,653 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $56,637 is below 76% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,812$56,637Bottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,612$31,697Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate23.8%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute18.3 minBottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher33.0%Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment95,653Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.9%Top 15%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.4%Bottom 38%June 2026
Labor force99,607Top 35%June 2026
Labor force participation63.2%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,680Bottom 14%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,700Bottom 18%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 45%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 32%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202457k41k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,637 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Chattanooga, TN-GA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators8,120$45,330
Fast Food and Counter Workers7,770$27,140
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,730$37,830
Retail Salespersons7,020$31,460
Registered Nurses6,460$79,770
Cashiers5,530$28,440

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Chattanooga, TN, the city containing this ZIP code.

15% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 9% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
Math proficiency
15.3%
Bottom 15% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
9.4%
Bottom 4% in Tennessee
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
East Side Elementary SchoolHamilton County55325%19%
Chattanooga Preparatory School · charterHamilton County53912%8%
Orchard Knob Elementary SchoolHamilton County51112%3%
Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence · charterHamilton County4683%8%
Montessori Elementary at Highland Park · charterHamilton County372
Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy · charterHamilton County35445%15%
Orchard Knob Middle SchoolHamilton County2643%8%
Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence Middle · charterHamilton County2503%3%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Tennessee’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,094 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
23.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,094
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$255,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.51Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate50.0%Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3626,079Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$85$1,094Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$32,605$255,400Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.2%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.8%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
66/ 100
Top 21% of 5,428 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 5.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
993
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.3
Top 28% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
22.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Chattanooga, TN, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 55.0 inches, including 3.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 48, in the Good band, and about 3 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CHATTANOOGA LOVELL AP, 4.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index63.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation55.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10032024 calendar year
Median air quality index48.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing39°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
48
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

58 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake.

TornadoModerate
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate
Inland floodingModerate
LightningModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, ice storm, cold wave, hail, heat wave, wildfire, hurricane, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Hamilton County records 8.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 16.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 27.4 per 100,000 residents in Hamilton County.

Homicide
8.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
27.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
16.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Hamilton County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around 37404 rather than 37404 itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 89 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV89 mi10,001 ft
Mc Ghee TysonTYS90 mi10,000 ft
SmyrnaMQY98 mi8,038 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

37404 vs Chattanooga

How this ZIP area compares with Chattanooga as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

37404
Chattanooga
Median household income
$56,637
vs
$64,523
Per capita income
$31,697
vs
$41,600
Population density
2,844/sq mi
vs
1,305/sq mi
Median home value
$255,400
vs
$283,200
Median gross rent
$1,094
vs
$1,256
Homeownership rate
50.0%
vs
52.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher
33.0%
vs
36.0%
Poverty rate
23.8%
vs
19.1%
Median age
34.5
vs
36.3

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.