Morristown, TN

Metro Area Profile

122,533 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Morristown, TN metropolitan area.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 37% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity481st of 835 metro and micro areas measured47
Schools584th of 695 metro and micro areas measured23
GrowthTop 11% of 834 metro and micro areas measured76
Housing affordabilityTop 16% of 835 metro and micro areas measured81
ClimateTop 12% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
AccessTop 50% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Economic stability520th of 835 metro and micro areas measured39
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $60,553, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

669 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 14% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 26% of renter income and the median home is 3.0 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
122,533
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,553
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
281/sq mi
436.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Tennessee
Nearest major airport
TYS
40 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$218,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 73% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 51,988 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,0812024 ACS 5-Year$60,553Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1232024 ACS 5-Year$33,523Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.0 minBottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year20.4%Bottom 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%95th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202651,988Top 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.1%Top 34%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.7%Bottom 28%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202653,91657th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year73.9%Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$51,480Bottom 6%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$44,280Bottom 17%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS47,29013th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%22nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 34%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.6%Top 27%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%23rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.62.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% 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 — Morristown, TN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,590$26,530
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,530$42,890
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,510$39,550
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,470$67,330
Retail Salespersons1,190$31,750
Cashiers1,100$28,120

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.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
31
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
—
Math proficiency
32.9%
Bottom 13% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
36.1%
Bottom 35% in Tennessee
The 12 largest of 31 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Jefferson Co High SchoolJefferson County1,965—33%45%
Morristown East HighHamblen County1,468—13%51%
Morristown West HighHamblen County1,458—10%51%
White Pine ElementaryJefferson County705—20%22%
Hillcrest ElementaryHamblen County647—28%21%
Manley ElementaryHamblen County646—41%39%
Mount Horeb Elementary SchoolJefferson County616—38%32%
Meadowview Middle SchoolHamblen County611—25%21%
Lincoln Heights Middle SchoolHamblen County602—31%23%
Russellville ElementaryHamblen County601—53%45%
Alpha ElementaryHamblen County595—53%54%
Maury Middle SchoolJefferson County582—41%38%

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 87.2, 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 59% over five years, and up 0.9% 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 $916 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.42% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,135, some 30% above the $873 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,135 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,400 a year, about 75% of the median household income here of $60,553.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $873 a month.

A median home at $218,100 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $71,934, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
87.2

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
26.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,135
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$873
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$218,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Morristown’s median household income of $60,553, 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 index202387.2Top 8%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+0.9%20th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+59.2%94th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+130.3%95th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.5%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1232024 ACS 5-Year53,72762nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$887Top 47%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,444Top 49%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,135Bottom 47%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$873Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,1942024 ACS 5-Year$218,10053rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$91611th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,9612024 ACS 5-Year$71,934Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.42%7th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.3%Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4522024 ACS 5-Year1,81764th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%45th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6262024 ACS 5-Year5,76457th 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

76/ 100
Top 11% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 6% since 2020, reaching 126,932 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 669 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 15% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 5.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
669
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.5
Top 23% nationally
Year over year
+14%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
14.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024127k119k
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 4 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 86°F and January a low of 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.4 inches, including 10.2 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MORRISTOWN WFO, 3.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals10.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US metro and micro areas.

EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate

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

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 Mc Ghee Tyson at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year87.4%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miTop 49%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS40 mi10,000 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI59 mi8,000 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL66 mi8,002 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
61
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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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