Chattanooga vs Memphis
Side-by-side comparison across six federal data streams. Chattanooga edges out Memphis on the composite MoveScore (77 vs 71).
| Metric | Chattanooga | Memphis |
|---|---|---|
| MoveScore (Composite) | 77/100 (B) | 71/100 (B) |
| Safety (FBI UCR) | 65/100 (B) | 65/100 (B) |
| Violent Crime / 100k | 277 | 285 |
| Water (EPA SDWIS) | 100/100 (A) | 100/100 (A) |
| Air (EPA AQS median AQI) | N/A | N/A |
| Schools (NCES) | N/A | N/A |
| Fiscal Health (Census) | 78/100 · $24,150 pc | 65/100 · $22,111 pc |
| Hospitals (CMS HCAHPS) | 3.3/5 · 5 tracked | 2.6/5 · 12 tracked |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is a better place to live, Chattanooga or Memphis?
Chattanooga edges out Memphis on the composite MoveScore (77 vs 71). The honest answer depends on what you weight most. Chattanooga and Memphis each have different strengths across the six federal data streams — see the breakdown above and decide which trade-offs fit your priorities.
Are Chattanooga and Memphis in the same state?
Yes, both cities are in Tennessee.
Where does the data come from?
All sub-scores trace to federal government sources: FBI UCR for safety, EPA SDWIS for water, EPA AQS for air, NCES/EDFacts for schools, Census ASPEP for fiscal health, and CMS HCAHPS for hospitals.
Side-by-side comparisons use the same six federal data streams as full city profiles. Bold entries indicate the better value on each metric.
The side-by-side above pulls the federal datasets including BLS, Census ACS, FBI Crime Data, NOAA Climate Normals, and NCES data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (cost), Census Bureau ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, 2026.