AreaProfile

Morristown, TN

Metro Area Profile

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

68
Area Score
Top 34% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity281st of 379 published metros44
GrowthTop 10% of 821 published metros76
Housing affordability447th of 822 published metros93
ClimateTop 12% of 822 published metros77
Physical resilienceTop 30% of 822 published metros70
AccessTop 48% of 822 published metros77
Economic stability482nd of 822 published metros45
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 3.9% and the Opportunity signal places Morristown in the bottom 26%.

Its Area Score of 68 places Morristown in the top 34% of published metro profiles.

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
County
Metro area
Morristown, TN
Nearest major airport
TYS
40 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$218,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9% is lower than 66% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 51,890 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,081$60,553Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,123$33,523Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.1%Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.0 minTop 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher20.4%Bottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment51,890Bottom 13%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.6%Top 33%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.9%Bottom 21%June 2026
Labor force53,978Bottom 13%June 2026
Labor force participation59.2%Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$51,480Bottom 5%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,280Bottom 16%2025 OEWS
Metro employment47,290Bottom 13%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 37%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.9%Bottom 34%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.23.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in June 2026. 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

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $873 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$873
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$218,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.60Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate72.5%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±12353,727Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$35$873Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,194$218,100Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.3%Bottom 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.7%Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
76/ 100
Top 10% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured 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: only 15% of permitted units 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 metros.

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.

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 precipitation47.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall10.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake and lightning.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 88% of measured US metros.

EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate

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

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

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. Reported crime is also easy to misread: agency participation varies year to year, and a city that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 40 miles away.

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
68
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

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