Living in Wildwood Lake, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.9% below the U.S. average in the Cleveland metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Bradley Central High School, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byAffiliate of Vitruvian Health in Cleveland, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 79 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 Wildwood Lake 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Wildwood Lake runs into the built-up area around Cleveland (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $231,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Bradley County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $972 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $62,722U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $765 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.1U.S. average = 100 (the Cleveland 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cleveland metro area, not Wildwood Lake 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 3,495The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 43 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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: Manufacturing (26%); schools, health care and social services (17%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Affiliate of Vitruvian Health, Cleveland, TN, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

2 public schools in Wildwood Lake, run by Bradley County. The nearest public high school is Bradley Central High School, about 5 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: 70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 88%U.S.: 91%

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: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 36 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 80 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.6 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 818 feet

Weather station: Cleveland Fltr Plt (10 miles away). 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

Affiliate of Vitruvian HealthEmergency room6

Cleveland, TNCity of 51,0006

Knoxville, TNMetro of 1 million79

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: Affiliate of Vitruvian Health, Cleveland, Knoxville.

Bradley County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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:

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park22 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail47 miles
Russell Cave National Monument55 miles
Great Smoky Mountains National Park56 miles
Little River Canyon National Preserve58 miles

Read about Wildwood Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Wildwood Lake?

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

South Cleveland, TN7,500 people, 4 miles
Cleveland, TN51,000 people, 6 miles
Apison, TN4,300 people, 11 miles
Hopewell, TN2,600 people, 11 miles
Collegedale, TN11,500 people, 12 miles
Benton, TN1,500 people, 13 miles

Smaller places

East Cleveland, TN (unincorporated)1,934 people, 4 miles
Ocoee, TN (unincorporated)208 people, 8 miles
McDonald, TN (unincorporated)712 people, 8 miles
Conasauga, TN (unincorporated)128 people, 9 miles
Cohutta, GA865 people, 11 miles
Ooltewah, TN (unincorporated)578 people, 12 miles
Charleston, TN923 people, 15 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.