Living in Kimball, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.5% below the U.S. average in the Chattanooga metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 25.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is South Pittsburg High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byErlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNashville is about 100 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Kimball meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $231,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Marion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $754 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $60,543U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $830 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.5U.S. average = 100 (the Chattanooga metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chattanooga metro area, not Kimball alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,6332020: 1,548
Median age: 43.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (23%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN, about 22 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Kimball itself. The nearest public high school is South Pittsburg High School, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 75%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 29°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 42 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 79 a year
Rain and melted snow: 63.7 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 666 feet

Weather stations: Bridgeport 5 NW (9 miles away) and Whitwell-sequatchie Vly (20 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Erlanger Medical CenterEmergency room22

Chattanooga, TNCity of 194,00024

Nashville, TNMetro of 2.2 million100

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, Nashville.

Marion County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Russell Cave National Monument9 miles
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park17 miles
Little River Canyon National Preserve37 miles

Read about Kimball's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kimball?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Jasper, TN3,600 people, 3 miles
South Pittsburg, TN2,900 people, 4 miles
Bridgeport, AL2,300 people, 7 miles
Whitwell, TN1,600 people, 13 miles
Stevenson, AL2,000 people, 14 miles
Powells Crossroads, TN1,300 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

New Hope, TN968 people, 3 miles
Sequatchie, TN (unincorporated)359 people, 6 miles
New England, GA (unincorporated)391 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.