Union City, TN

Micro Area Profile

30,453 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Union City, TN micropolitan area.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 17% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity555th of 835 metro and micro areas measured42
Schools493rd of 695 metro and micro areas measured33
Growth786th of 834 metro and micro areas measured19
Housing affordabilityTop 8% of 835 metro and micro areas measured84
ClimateTop 35% of 835 metro and micro areas measured71
Physical resilience567th of 835 metro and micro areas measured42
Access536th of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
Economic stability728th of 835 metro and micro areas measured18
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $54,613, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Residential permitting has slowed: 21 units authorized over the past twelve months, 22% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 25% of renter income and the median home is 2.1 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
30,453
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,613
Bottom 13% nationally
Density
56/sq mi
544.8 sq mi of land
Median age
41.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Tennessee
Nearest major airport
BYH
52 mi · Arkansas Intl
Median home value
$133,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 69% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.4% over the past year, to 13,012 employed residents.

Median household income of $54,613 is lower than in 87% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,7082024 ACS 5-Year$54,613Bottom 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6712024 ACS 5-Year$30,429Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.6%Bottom 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.8 minTop 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.3%Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.7%85th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,012Bottom 9%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.2%Bottom 37%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 44%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,5179th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.1%Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%21st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Top 5%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%2nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.32.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
—
Math proficiency
34.1%
Bottom 22% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
37.1%
Bottom 48% in Tennessee
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Union City Elementary SchoolUnion City793—33%25%
Obion County Central High SchoolObion County652—12%44%
Hillcrest ElementaryObion County587—49%43%
Lake Road ElementaryObion County492—42%36%
Union City Middle SchoolUnion City438—43%29%
Union City High SchoolUnion City416—22%52%
Ridgemont ElementaryObion County385—31%25%
South Fulton Middle / High SchoolObion County334—31%45%
South Fulton ElementaryObion County289—52%42%
Black Oak ElementaryObion County220—37%37%

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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $690 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $925, some 20% above the $770 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $925 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,000 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $54,613.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $770 a month.

A median home at $133,600 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $63,639, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$925
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$770
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$133,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Union City’s median household income of $54,613, 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
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.1%39th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±662024 ACS 5-Year14,32612th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$727Top 10%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,187Top 11%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$925Top 10%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$282024 ACS 5-Year$770Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,7242024 ACS 5-Year$133,60010th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$6904th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,5062024 ACS 5-Year$63,639Bottom 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.52%16th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.0%Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1622024 ACS 5-Year39429th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%70th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3082024 ACS 5-Year1,79916th 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.

Development Momentum

19/ 100
Ranks 786 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 fallen 2% since 2020, to 30,261 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 21 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
21
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 12% nationally
Year over year
−22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202431k30k
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 falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

6 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 53.3 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DYERSBURG III GOLF, 28.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals53.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

42 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, cold wave and inland flooding, with earthquake alone responsible for 57% 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
Ice stormModerate
Cold waveModerate
DroughtModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Strong windModerate
LandslideModerate
TornadoHigh

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, hurricane, inland flooding, hail, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 52 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle52 miBottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.4%Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arkansas IntlBYH52 mi11,602 ft
Millington/MemphisNQA80 mi8,001 ft
Veterans Airport of Southern IllinoisMWA97 mi8,012 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
48
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.

Cities in this metro