37643 — Elizabethton, Tennessee

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 37643. Its median household income runs 10% above Elizabethton as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,802nd of 3,116 ZIP areas measured50
Schools1,844th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured42
Growth1,835th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured82
ClimateTop 30% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
Physical resilience2,147th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured42
Access1,839th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured90
Economic stability2,835th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured25
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $51,831, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, rather than for 37643 alone.

Residential permitting has slowed: 27 units authorized over the past twelve months, 23% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, rather than for 37643 alone.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most ZIP areas measured: rent takes 26% of renter income and the median home is 2.8 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
34,120
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,831
Bottom 17% nationally
Density
260/sq mi
131.1 sq mi of land
Median age
46.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Elizabethton
Tennessee
Nearest major airport
TRI
17 mi · Tri-Cities
Median home value
$166,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, is 3.8%, lower than in 71% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, fell 1.1% over the past year, to 22,733 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,831 is lower than in 83% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCarter County, TN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,8529th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCarter County, TN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$44,7443rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,7202024 ACS 5-Year$51,831Bottom 17%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6172024 ACS 5-Year$30,936Bottom 30%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.9%Bottom 27%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.7 minTop 38%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.4%Bottom 42%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%79th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentElizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 202622,733Bottom 23%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Elizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 2026+1.5%Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Elizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 42%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceElizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 202623,61923rd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.9%Bottom 20%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageJohnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,750Bottom 7%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageJohnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$43,480Bottom 6%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%74th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Elizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateElizabethton, TN’s figureJuly 20263.8%Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%40th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202452k45k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,831 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 — Johnson City, TN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,900$26,270
Registered Nurses2,740$77,660
Retail Salespersons2,330$29,820
Customer Service Representatives1,940$36,570
Cashiers1,920$27,160
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants1,580$36,570

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Elizabethton, TN, the city containing this ZIP code.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
—
Math proficiency
38.3%
Bottom 42% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
37.7%
Bottom 42% in Tennessee
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Elizabethton High SchoolElizabethton886—30%45%
T A Dugger Junior High SchoolElizabethton619—52%40%
Hunter ElementaryCarter County498—38%26%
East Side ElementaryElizabethton465—42%37%
Happy Valley High SchoolCarter County449—27%32%
Hampton High SchoolCarter County368—22%27%
West Side ElementaryElizabethton367—72%62%
Happy Valley Middle SchoolCarter County354—37%29%
Harold McCormick ElementaryElizabethton341—37%42%
Unaka High SchoolCarter County284—32%37%
Unaka ElementaryCarter County194—27%22%
Valley Forge ElementaryCarter County186—42%42%

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 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.4, 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 the Johnson City, TN Metro Area is up 63% over five years, and up 4.0% 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 $887 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,132, some 55% above the $732 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,132 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,300 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $51,831.

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 $732 a month.

A median home at $166,600 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $58,890, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.4

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Johnson City, TN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
25.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,132
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$732
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$166,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 37643’s median household income of $51,831, 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 indexthe Johnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure202388.4Top 5%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Johnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.0%67th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Johnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+63.4%97th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Johnson City, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+119.3%84th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 46%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.8%39th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3522024 ACS 5-Year16,60294th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$893Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,398Top 16%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,132Top 20%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$432024 ACS 5-Year$732Top 16%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,9272024 ACS 5-Year$166,60034th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$332024 ACS 5-Year$88716th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,6752024 ACS 5-Year$58,890Bottom 16%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%16th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.7%Top 35%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±872024 ACS 5-Year10576th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%43rd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%72nd percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3952024 ACS 5-Year1,97296th percentileof 33,7722024 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

46/ 100
Ranks 1,835 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 27 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, rather than for 37643 alone.

At 1.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Elizabethton, TN, which contains 37643, rather than for 37643 alone.

Units permitted
27
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 35% nationally
Year over year
−23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
42%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,852
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$44,744
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Washington County, TN 1,002 people · 31% of arrivals
  2. Sullivan County, TN 388 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Unicoi County, TN 93 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  4. Johnson County, TN 70 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  5. Greene County, TN 67 people · 2.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Washington County, TN 991 people · 39% of departures
  2. Sullivan County, TN 329 people · 13% of departures
  3. Unicoi County, TN 124 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Greene County, TN 66 people · 2.6% of departures
  5. Johnson County, TN 57 people · 2.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Carter County, TN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Elizabethton, TN, the city containing this ZIP code.

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 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.0 inches, including 9.2 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 BRISTOL TRI CITY AP, 17.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals9.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°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

42 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 76% of it. Strong wind and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, strong wind, lightning, wildfire, ice storm, cold wave, hurricane, tornado, winter weather, drought, hail, heat wave, 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
33.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 37643 (Carter County) rather than 37643 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Elizabethton carries the figure where its 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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Tri-Cities at 17 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year85.5%Bottom 32%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle17 miTop 49%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 9%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%Bottom 45%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tri-CitiesTRI17 mi8,000 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL69 mi8,002 ft
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT103 mi10,000 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
56
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—

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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)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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.

37643 vs Elizabethton

How this ZIP area compares with Elizabethton as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

37643
Elizabethton
Median household income: 37643 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$51,831
vs
$46,975
Per capita income: 37643 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$30,936
vs
$30,387
Population density
260/sq mi
vs
1,505/sq mi
Median home value
$166,600
vs
$172,900
Median gross rent: 37643 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$732
vs
$740
Homeownership rate
74.8%
vs
62.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Elizabethton is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
20.4%
vs
26.4%
Poverty rate: 37643 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
15.9%
vs
17.7%
Median age
46.0
vs
40.9

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.