Property tax rates, schools, home values, incomes and city services in Chattanooga and its three nearest neighboring cities, from official 2024-2026 data.
Last checked Oct. 18, 2026. Sources: the Hamilton County Trustee’s 2026 tax rate sheet; Hamilton County Schools’ 2026-27 school zones map; the Tennessee Department of Education’s 2024-25 letter grades; Zillow Research (September 2026); the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, shown on QuickFacts; and each city’s own website.
Chattanooga’s three nearest neighbors that are cities or towns are Red Bank, about 4 miles north and surrounded by Chattanooga, East Ridge, about 5 miles southeast on the Georgia line, and the Town of Signal Mountain, about 8 miles northwest on top of the mountain. (Middle Valley, also nearby, is an unincorporated community with no city government.) All four are in Hamilton County and share its school district, but they differ in city tax rates, home values and who provides police, fire and trash service. This page sets the official figures side by side, one topic at a time. It does not rank them.
What this means for you
- Taxes: combined 2026 rates run from $2.315 per $100 of assessed value in East Ridge to $3.4457 inside Chattanooga.
- Schools: all four are in Hamilton County Schools; each smaller city has one zoned high school, and Chattanooga is split among nine main zones.
- Home values: from $253,065 in East Ridge to $626,720 in Signal Mountain in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
Property taxes
Tennessee taxes homes on 25% of appraised value, and every rate is per $100 of that assessed value. Every home in the county pays the Hamilton County rate; homes inside a city also pay that city’s rate. These are the rates for tax year 2026 from the Hamilton County Trustee:
| Place | County rate | City rate | Total | Tax on a home appraised at $300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | $1.5157 | $1.9300 | $3.4457 | $2,584 |
| Red Bank | $1.5157 | $1.2900 | $2.8057 | $2,104 |
| Signal Mountain | $1.5157 | $1.1002 | $2.6159 | $1,962 |
| East Ridge | $1.5157 | $0.7993 | $2.3150 | $1,736 |
The last column is our arithmetic: $300,000 at 25% is $75,000 assessed, times the total rate per $100. Actual bills depend on the assessor’s value for each parcel, and Chattanooga also bills a stormwater fee. The county’s $1.5157 splits into a general fund ($0.8563), a school fund ($0.6540) and a road fund ($0.0054).
City tax rates in 2026
Help for homeowners comes as state tax relief for qualifying older, disabled and veteran homeowners, which applies across the county, and the City of Chattanooga runs its own property tax freeze for homeowners 65 and older on the city bill. More in our property taxes guide.
Schools
All four are served by Hamilton County Schools. These are the high school zones that cover each place on the district’s 2026-27 zone map, weighted by 2020 census population, with each school’s overall grade on Tennessee’s 2024-25 letter-grade report card:
| Place | Zoned high school | 2024-25 grade | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bank | Red Bank High | C | All |
| East Ridge | East Ridge High | C | Nearly all |
| Signal Mountain | Signal Mountain Middle/High | C | All |
| Chattanooga | The Howard School | D | About 20% |
| Chattanooga | Brainerd High | D | About 19% |
| Chattanooga | Red Bank High | C | About 17% |
| Chattanooga | Hixson High | B | About 13% |
| Chattanooga | East Hamilton High | A | About 9% |
| Chattanooga | Ooltewah High | C | About 7% |
| Chattanooga | Tyner Academy | B | About 6% |
| Chattanooga | Central High | D | About 5% |
| Chattanooga | Lookout Valley Middle/High | C | About 4% |
Less than 1% of Chattanooga residents are zoned for East Ridge High or Signal Mountain Middle/High.
Because the district is countywide, some Chattanooga homes are zoned for the same high school as Red Bank, and Chattanooga is also home to magnet schools open to students from across the county. More in our schools guide.
Home values
The Zillow Home Value Index for each city in September 2026, a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price:
| Place | September 2026 | September 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Mountain | $626,720 | $616,005 | Up 1.7% |
| Chattanooga | $314,999 | $319,114 | Down 1.3% |
| Red Bank | $303,549 | $309,848 | Down 2.0% |
| East Ridge | $253,065 | $260,172 | Down 2.7% |
Typical home value by city
More in our home prices guide and neighborhoods guide.
People, incomes and commutes
From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the same vintage for all four, shown on QuickFacts for Chattanooga, Red Bank, East Ridge and Signal Mountain:
| Place | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Mean travel time to work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | 185,783 | $64,523 | $283,200 | 18.5 minutes |
| East Ridge | 22,070 | $62,247 | $211,100 | 21.0 minutes |
| Red Bank | 12,010 | $63,983 | $269,400 | 18.9 minutes |
| Signal Mountain | 8,860 | $141,008 | $544,300 | 27.5 minutes |
The census median home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, so it differs from Zillow’s index.
City services
| Service | Chattanooga | Red Bank | East Ridge | Signal Mountain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police | Chattanooga Police Department | Red Bank Police Department | East Ridge Police Department | Signal Mountain Police Department |
| Fire | Chattanooga Fire Department | Red Bank Fire Department, two stations staffed 24 hours | East Ridge Fire Rescue | Signal Mountain Fire Department |
| Trash | City pickup: garbage weekly, recycling every other week | City sanitation with city-issued cans | City sanitation Monday to Thursday with a 96-gallon cart; recycling every other week | Town pickup funded by property taxes, in town-furnished carts |
Each city runs its own police and fire departments and its own trash pickup. More in our trash and recycling guide and who to call at City Hall guide.
How to check an address
- Which city a home is in: look up the parcel on the Hamilton County Assessor of Property’s search, which shows the taxing city and the appraised value.
- Which schools it is zoned for: enter the address in the Hamilton County Schools School Zone Finder or the school zone lookup map.
- What the tax bill was: search the parcel on the Hamilton County Trustee’s property tax search; to estimate a bill, take 25% of the appraised value, divide by 100 and multiply by the total rate in the table above.
Frequently asked questions
Which has lower property taxes, Chattanooga or Red Bank?
For 2026 the combined rate is $2.8057 per $100 of assessed value in Red Bank and $3.4457 in Chattanooga, according to the Hamilton County Trustee. Both include the same Hamilton County rate of $1.5157; the difference is the city rate.
What is the property tax rate in East Ridge, Tennessee?
The City of East Ridge rate for 2026 is $0.7993 per $100 of assessed value, plus the Hamilton County rate of $1.5157, for $2.315 in all, according to the Hamilton County Trustee’s 2026 rate sheet.
Do Chattanooga, Red Bank, East Ridge and Signal Mountain share a school district?
Yes. All four are served by Hamilton County Schools. Red Bank is zoned for Red Bank High, East Ridge for East Ridge High and Signal Mountain for Signal Mountain Middle/High, all graded C on Tennessee’s 2024-25 report card; Chattanooga is split among nine main high school zones.
What is the typical home value in Signal Mountain compared with Chattanooga?
In September 2026 the Zillow Home Value Index was $626,720 in Signal Mountain and $314,999 in Chattanooga, with Red Bank at $303,549 and East Ridge at $253,065.
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