Hamblen County, TN

County Profile

65,669 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hamblen County, TN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 38% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity971st of 1,255 counties measured41
Schools532nd of 973 counties measured47
GrowthTop 10% of 1,226 counties measured74
Housing affordability735th of 1,255 counties measured90
ClimateTop 20% of 1,254 counties measured76
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 1,255 counties measured79
Access860th of 1,255 counties measured72
Economic stability903rd of 1,255 counties measured47
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published profiles: unemployment is 4.0% and the Opportunity signal places Hamblen County in the bottom 23%.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 356 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 23% on the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Hamblen County in the top 23% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
65,669
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,454
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
407/sq mi
161.2 sq mi of land
Median age
40.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Hamblen County
Tennessee
Metro area
Morristown, TN
Nearest major airport
TYS
49 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$210,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 58% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 2.1% over the past year, to 26,512 employed residents.

Median household income of $55,454 is below 76% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,745$55,454Bottom 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,260$30,437Bottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate18.4%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.5 minBottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher20.0%Bottom 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment26,512Bottom 34%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.3%Top 39%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.1%Bottom 18%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force27,622Bottom 34%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation58.5%Bottom 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.3%Bottom 29%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 42%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.33.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% 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.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202455k45k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $55,454 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
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.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 29% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
18
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
Math proficiency
35.2%
Top 44% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
28.6%
Bottom 36% in Tennessee
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Morristown East HighHamblen County1,468
Morristown West HighHamblen County1,458
Hillcrest ElementaryHamblen County64721%15%
Manley ElementaryHamblen County64640%39%
Meadowview Middle SchoolHamblen County61127%12%
Lincoln Heights Middle SchoolHamblen County60227%17%
Russellville ElementaryHamblen County60146%45%
Alpha ElementaryHamblen County59538%45%
West View Middle SchoolHamblen County58132%27%
Lincoln Heights ElementaryHamblen County56550%29%
East Ridge Middle SchoolHamblen County52837%22%
Fairview MargueriteHamblen County49027%24%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Tennessee’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $857 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
18.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$857
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$210,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.80Top 24%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate69.8%Bottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4328,095Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$37$857Bottom 47%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,889$210,900Top 40%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.5%Top 33%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.9%Bottom 14%of 3,2222024 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
74/ 100
Top 10% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2022 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 5% since 2020, reaching 67,715 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

At 5.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
356
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.4
Top 27% nationally
Year over year
+23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
27.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202468k64k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
2022202320242025322258
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−20%).

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 27°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.1 inches, including 8.8 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 RADIO WCRK, 3.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation48.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall8.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing40°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

79 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Hamblen County records 4.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.1 per 100,000 residents in Hamblen County.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
17.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Hamblen County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Hamblen County rather than Hamblen County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

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.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences 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. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
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 49 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS49 mi10,000 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI51 mi8,000 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL68 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.

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
65
Your Score

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

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
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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 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.

Cities in Hamblen County, TN