Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Area Profile

32,693 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Oak Ridge, in Anderson County.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 20% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 24% of 3,904 published cities69
SchoolsTop 27% of 2,668 published cities70
GrowthTop 17% of 2,973 published cities70
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 4,223 published cities90
ClimateTop 23% of 4,223 published cities77
Physical resilience2428th of 4,182 published cities49
Access3036th of 4,226 published cities84
Economic stability2962nd of 4,226 published cities49
The quick read

Oak Ridge ranks in the top 24% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.6% and median household income of $72,311.

220 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

A major airport is 20 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
32,693
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,311
Top 43% nationally
Density
383/sq mi
85.3 sq mi of land
Median age
39.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Anderson County
Tennessee
Metro area
Knoxville, TN
Nearest major airport
TYS
20 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$270,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6% is lower than 80% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 14,587 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$6,124$72,311Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,878$42,285Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.2%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.4 minBottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher40.2%Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment14,587Bottom 13%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.8%Top 10%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.2%Bottom 40%June 2026
Labor force15,125Bottom 13%June 2026
Labor force participation59.9%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$59,890Bottom 14%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,080Bottom 17%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.3%Bottom 30%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.6%Bottom 20%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.32.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% 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
202120222023202472k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,311 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 — Knoxville, TN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,730$27,720
Retail Salespersons12,430$31,150
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand10,120$37,400
Registered Nurses9,500$77,240
General and Operations Managers8,660$104,590
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers8,130$59,100

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.

43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
Math proficiency
42.6%
Top 31% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
36.2%
Top 29% in Tennessee
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Oak Ridge High SchoolOak Ridge1,635
Robertsville Middle SchoolOak Ridge76832%29%
Jefferson Middle SchoolOak Ridge71734%32%
Linden ElementaryOak Ridge52458%51%
Woodland ElementaryOak Ridge42652%39%
Willow Brook ElementaryOak Ridge41130%22%
Glenwood ElementaryOak Ridge37263%50%
PreschoolOak Ridge225

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 $1,131 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
18.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,131
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$270,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.74Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.8%Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±48515,279Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$50$1,131Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,549$270,200Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.8%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.3%Bottom 44%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
70/ 100
Top 17% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2020 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 8% since 2020, reaching 34,039 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 6.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
220
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.7
Top 22% nationally
Year over year
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202434k31k
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
20202022202320242025307226
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−26%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 59.7 inches, including 4.4 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station OAK RIDGE ATDD, 3.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index50.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation59.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall4.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index41.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing40°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
50
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, hurricane, hail, heat wave, drought.

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.

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.

Anderson County records 3.4 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 12.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 68.5 per 100,000 residents in Anderson County.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
68.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
17.4
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 Anderson 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 Oak Ridge rather than Oak Ridge 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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 20 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS20 mi10,000 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL105 mi8,002 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI111 mi8,000 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
70
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Other cities in Knoxville, TN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
KnoxvilleKnox County195,18566vs Oak Ridge
MaryvilleBlount County32,39274vs Oak Ridge
FarragutKnox County24,63479vs Oak Ridge
PowellKnox County13,739vs Oak Ridge
AlcoaBlount County12,22270vs Oak Ridge
Lenoir CityLoudon County11,11069vs Oak Ridge
HallsKnox County10,272vs Oak Ridge
ClintonAnderson County10,23967vs Oak Ridge

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Oak Ridge side by side with a similar place.

Oak Ridge vs Pell CityOak Ridge vs AthensOak Ridge vs DicksonOak Ridge vs Moody

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)
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

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.

ZIP codes in Oak Ridge

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
3783033,038$72,26969