Jackson, TN

Metro Area Profile

181,719 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Jackson, TN metropolitan area.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity449th of 835 metro and micro areas measured49
Schools616th of 695 metro and micro areas measured18
GrowthTop 35% of 834 metro and micro areas measured59
Housing affordability463rd of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
ClimateTop 21% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Physical resilienceTop 46% of 835 metro and micro areas measured58
Access617th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Economic stability544th of 835 metro and micro areas measured36
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $61,177, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

476 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.4 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
181,719
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,177
Bottom 30% nationally
Density
106/sq mi
1,711.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Tennessee
Nearest major airport
BYH
61 mi · Arkansas Intl
Median home value
$185,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 59% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 78,054 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,8072024 ACS 5-Year$61,177Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9152024 ACS 5-Year$32,377Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year15.9%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.6 minBottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year23.7%Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202678,054Top 32%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.5%Top 29%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.2%Bottom 39%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202681,26168th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.8%Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$53,290Bottom 9%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$44,790Bottom 19%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS84,53042nd percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%52nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 30%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 41%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%38th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.42.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — Jackson, TN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,410$36,710
Retail Salespersons2,390$30,990
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,370$26,360
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,280$31,120
Registered Nurses1,930$75,610
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,890$40,340

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 32% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
60
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
—
Math proficiency
34.3%
Bottom 26% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
31.9%
Bottom 9% in Tennessee
The 12 largest of 60 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Side High SchoolMadison County903—3%21%
South Gibson County Elementary SchoolGibson Co Sp Dist881—67%47%
Crockett County High SchoolCrockett County879—22%31%
Milan ElementaryMilan846—43%29%
Chester County High SchoolChester County808—25%41%
Northeast Middle SchoolMadison County804—33%24%
Thelma Barker ElementaryMadison County776—36%27%
South Gibson County High SchoolGibson Co Sp Dist776—62%62%
South Gibson County Middle SchoolGibson Co Sp Dist757—71%47%
South Side High SchoolMadison County756—21%25%
Community Montessori SchoolMadison County665—47%56%
Pope SchoolMadison County628—33%27%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Tennessee’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 86.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for this area is up 56% over five years, and up 6.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,073 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.58% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,260, some 26% above the $997 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,260 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,400 a year, about 82% of the median household income here of $61,177.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $997 a month.

A median home at $185,300 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,073, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
86.8

Prices here run about 13% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
30.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,260
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$997
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$185,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Jackson’s median household income of $61,177, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index202386.8Top 6%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+6.1%84th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+56.4%89th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+116.5%83rd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year65.8%27th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±892024 ACS 5-Year80,12173rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$960Bottom 41%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,677Bottom 31%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,260Bottom 32%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$997Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,4012024 ACS 5-Year$185,30038th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$412024 ACS 5-Year$1,07317th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,2102024 ACS 5-Year$76,073Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.58%23rd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.0%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1902024 ACS 5-Year66840th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%22nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7052024 ACS 5-Year7,67067th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

59/ 100
Top 35% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 183,680 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 476 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
476
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.6
Bottom 49% nationally
Year over year
+13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024184k181k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 53.9 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JACKSON MCKELLAR AP, 11.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals53.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

58 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, tornado and inland flooding, with earthquake alone responsible for 52% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeModerate
TornadoModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, lightning, ice storm, strong wind, drought, inland flooding, hurricane, winter weather, wildfire, hail, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Arkansas Intl at 61 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year89.0%Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle61 miBottom 25%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arkansas IntlBYH61 mi11,602 ft
Millington/MemphisNQA62 mi8,001 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM79 mi11,120 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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