East Ridge
Affordable, family renters, steady demand.
Chattanooga, TN
Is Chattanooga a good place to buy rental property in 2026?
Short answer: yes — for balanced buy-and-hold. Chattanooga's median cap rate of about 6.8% (Tennessee state median) sits near the ~6.5% national median, with typical rent at $1,390–$1,734/mo and Tennessee property tax near 0.67%.
Chattanooga is a revitalized mid-size metro with no state income tax and a growing tech-and-logistics base — affordable with real upside.
Chattanooga market snapshot
Balanced marketMid-range cap rates — cash flow and appreciation are both realistically on the table.
Typical cap rate
6.8%
Tennessee state median
Typical rent
$1,390–$1,734/mo
HUD FMR · 2–3BR · 2026
Typical price
$250,000–$340,000
est., all-in
Property tax
0.67%
Tennessee effective
Rent is HUD Fair Market Rent where available, otherwise a market estimate; price is a market estimate. Cap-rate and tax are the defaults TrueCap applies — enter a specific address for exact, auto-filled numbers.
Sources & methodology. These are screening defaults and market estimates — not an appraisal, and not financial, tax, or legal advice. Verify rents, taxes, insurance, and local landlord/tenant law against the county assessor and your state's landlord-tenant statute before relying on them.
Data: HUD Fair Market Rent · FRED 30-yr mortgage rate · Tax Foundation (property tax) · Updated July 2026
Metro-level estimates — precision is lower at the neighborhood and parcel level; pull a specific address for exact, auto-filled figures. Reviewed by the TrueCap team. See our full methodology.
What rents actually look like in Chattanooga
One number never tells the story — HUD publishes ZIP-level Small Area Fair Market Rents for the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area, the metro-wide FMR region that includes Chattanooga, and the spread across its ZIP codes is where deals are won or lost. Same purchase price, different ZIP, very different rent.
| ZIP code | 2BR rent | 3BR rent |
|---|---|---|
| 37350 | $1,900/mo | $2,370/mo |
| 37403 | $1,650/mo | $2,060/mo |
| 37351 | $1,480/mo | $1,850/mo |
| 37450 | $1,480/mo | $1,850/mo |
| 30739 | $1,350/mo | $1,700/mo |
| 30726 | $1,260/mo | $1,570/mo |
| 37311 | $1,220/mo | $1,570/mo |
| 37407 | $1,180/mo | $1,470/mo |
| 30725 | $1,100/mo | $1,390/mo |
| 30740 | $1,070/mo | $1,390/mo |
| 30747 | $970/mo | $1,350/mo |
| 38585 | $970/mo | $1,260/mo |
Showing 12 of 71 ZIP codes in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area — the HUD FMR region that includes Chattanooga — sampled highest to lowest across the rent range. Source: HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents. TrueCap auto-fills the exact ZIP-level figure when you enter a Chattanooga address.
Why Chattanooga works for rental investors
Balanced cash flow with appreciation potential as the downtown and riverfront draw continues. Attainable entry for the growth on offer.
See the full Tennessee investing guide — taxes, landlord law & top metros →
Neighborhoods to look at in Chattanooga
Red Bank
Stable suburb, reliable tenants.
Hixson
Newer stock, low vacancy.
Neighborhood notes are starting points, not recommendations — always underwrite the specific property.
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Paste a Chattanooga address into TrueCap and get cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, cash flow, and a 10-year projection — auto-filled with Tennessee tax and HUD rent so you start from the right assumptions.
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