Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

8,824

people, the 69th-largest of Tennessee's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Tennessee's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

82.8%

of 1,221 jobs located in Signal Mountain are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 49% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,852

a month. Tennessee's median is $1,189.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,552 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Hamilton County.

• $941 Tract 101.03
• $2,493 Tract 112.05

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$766–$1,149

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,852 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 59 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 86% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–0.3% to the 3,429 homes here.

4–12

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 90% more than Tennessee's.

$544,300

median home value in Signal Mountain.

• $544,300 Signal Mountain
• $286,700 Tennessee
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year