Elevation of Chattanooga
676ft
above sea level · 206 m
Chattanooga is a city in Tennessee with 194,144 people, the 4th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 94th highest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 35.05° N · 85.31° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 35° 2′ 44″ N · 85° 18′ 35″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 16S · 654,166 E · 3,879,409 N
- Zone 16 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 194,144 people
- 142 sq mi of land · 1,364 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from August 2025: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Chattanooga had 194,144 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 6.9% more than in April 2020, when it had 181,659. Its 142 sq mi of land work out to 1,364 people/sq mi; the state average is 177 people/sq mi.
It’s the 4th most populous of the 504 places the Census counts in Tennessee (cities, towns and CDPs), after Nashville (721,074), and holds 2.7% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Hamilton County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 3.7 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Chattanooga sits at 676 ft (206 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Chattanooga is 186 ft below it.
The state capital, Nashville, is 113 mi away in a straight line and 121 ft lower than Chattanooga.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Atlanta (Georgia), 104 mi away in a straight line and 374 ft higher.
Of the 6 cities in Tennessee with a page, Chattanooga is the 2nd highest. The others are Knoxville (899 ft), Murfreesboro (613 ft), Nashville (555 ft), Clarksville (474 ft), and Memphis (259 ft).
The highest point in Tennessee is Kuwohi, at 6,643 ft according to the USGS: 5,967 ft above Chattanooga, 108 mi away in a straight line.
- 94 Chattanooga 676 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Chattanooga.
What is the elevation of Chattanooga?
Chattanooga is 676 feet (206 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Chattanooga?
Latitude 35.04563 and longitude -85.30968, in decimal degrees (35° 2′ 44″ N · 85° 18′ 35″ W). In UTM, zone 16: 654,166 E and 3,879,409 N, on NAD83.
How does Chattanooga rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 94th highest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Chattanooga in?
Hamilton County, Tennessee.
Which is higher, Chattanooga or Nashville?
Chattanooga. Chattanooga sits at 676 ft and Nashville at 555 ft: a difference of 121 ft, 113 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know