Morristown, Tennessee

Area Profile

31,527 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Morristown, in Hamblen County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 40% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity3,027th of 4,199 cities measured46
Schools3,328th of 4,162 cities measured26
GrowthTop 4% of 4,224 cities measured80
Housing affordabilityTop 17% of 4,218 cities measured78
ClimateTop 27% of 4,225 cities measured76
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured76
Access3,634th of 4,226 cities measured73
Economic stability4,009th of 4,226 cities measured25
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 3.8% and the Opportunity signal places Morristown in the bottom 28%.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 286 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 24% on 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 cities measured: rent takes 28% 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
31,527
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,917
Bottom 20% nationally
Density
1,130/sq mi
27.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Tennessee
Metro area
Nearest major airport
TYS
47 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$181,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.8% over the past year, to 12,283 employed residents.

Median household income of $47,917 is lower than in 80% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHamblen County, TN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,04022nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHamblen County, TN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,1312nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,8642024 ACS 5-Year$47,917Bottom 20%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9502024 ACS 5-Year$26,504Bottom 25%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year25.4%Bottom 14%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.1 minTop 31%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.0%Bottom 34%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year84.3%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,283Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.4%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202612,7746th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year69.5%Bottom 26%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMorristown, TN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,480Bottom 2%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMorristown, TN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,280Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%28th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.03.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202448k36k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,917 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

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.

30% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
—
Math proficiency
30.2%
Bottom 18% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
37.0%
Bottom 36% in Tennessee
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Morristown East HighHamblen County1,468—13%51%
Morristown West HighHamblen County1,458—10%51%
Hillcrest ElementaryHamblen County647—28%21%
Manley ElementaryHamblen County646—41%39%
Meadowview Middle SchoolHamblen County611—25%21%
Lincoln Heights Middle SchoolHamblen County602—31%23%
Alpha ElementaryHamblen County595—53%54%
West View Middle SchoolHamblen County581—39%34%
Lincoln Heights ElementaryHamblen County565—49%24%
Fairview MargueriteHamblen County490—37%22%
West ElementaryHamblen County466—34%22%
Talbott ElementaryJefferson County300—42%32%

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 the Morristown, TN Metro 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 $880 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.49% 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 29% above the $882 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 95% of the median household income here of $47,917.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $882 a month.

A median home at $181,100 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $60,250, 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.

Published for the Morristown, 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
27.5%
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
$882
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$181,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Morristown’s median household income of $47,917, 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 Morristown, TN Metro Area’s figure202387.2Top 2%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Morristown, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.9%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Morristown, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+59.2%95th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Morristown, TN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+130.3%95th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.9%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4032024 ACS 5-Year13,55996th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$887Top 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,444Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,135Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$652024 ACS 5-Year$882Top 40%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,2632024 ACS 5-Year$181,10048th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1322024 ACS 5-Year$88019th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,0682024 ACS 5-Year$60,250Bottom 23%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.49%10th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.5%Top 45%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±842024 ACS 5-Year6585th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2892024 ACS 5-Year1,27796th percentileof 32,3302024 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

80/ 100
Top 4% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 8% since 2020, reaching 32,994 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 197 units authorized in 2025, 16% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Hamblen County, which contains Morristown, gained about 1.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $58,040, above the $45,131 of households that moved out.

At 9.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
286
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.1
Top 14% nationally
Year over year
+24%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
34.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202433k30k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
39%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,040
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$45,131
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, TN 676 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Knox County, TN 304 people · 7.9% of arrivals
  3. Grainger County, TN 219 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  4. Hawkins County, TN 193 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Sevier County, TN 190 people · 4.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, TN 611 people · 20% of departures
  2. Knox County, TN 262 people · 8.6% of departures
  3. Grainger County, TN 221 people · 7.3% of departures
  4. Hawkins County, TN 209 people · 6.9% of departures
  5. Greene County, TN 193 people · 6.4% 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 Hamblen County, TN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025243197
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−19%).

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, 1.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals8.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

76 / 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 52% 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 cities.

EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, tornado, ice storm, inland flooding, strong wind, winter weather, wildfire, cold wave, hurricane, 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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
514
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,116
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Morristown's police department reported 514 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,116.

Hamblen County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, 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, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

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

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
16.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Morristown’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Morristown (Hamblen County) rather than Morristown itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mc Ghee Tyson at 47 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.4%Bottom 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle47 miBottom 14%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS47 mi10,000 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI53 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.

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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
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April 2025 to March 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.

ZIP codes in Morristown

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Morristown with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Morristown closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3781435,239$55,650$220,50064
3781318,288$48,011$172,600—
378779,185$77,624$234,90067