Tennessee’s economy is growing: GDP has increased 19%, and jobs have grown 2.6% over the past five years—real progress that reflects the hard work of communities across the state. Despite this growth, most Tennesseans still struggle to make ends meet: 43.7% live below the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold and are unable to afford basic necessities. Moreover, residents in 91 out of 95 counties earn less than what is needed to cover local living costs (Living Wage Gap).
The 2nd edition of ThinkTennessee‘s State of Our Counties Dashboard examines economic well-being and opportunity county by county, equipping communities and policymakers with the data they need to understand where progress is happening, and where they need support.
Our updated dashboard features a significant expansion in data, visuals, and interactivity. Notable new features include:
- County and Regional data, including 9 Regional Development Districts and 18 Commuting Zones
- Longitudinal data, including the five most recent years, where available
- Disaggregated data by race, gender, age, and disability status, where available
- Data points and rankings for all counties on 132 indicators, viewable in both an interactive map and bar chart
- Prepopulated reports, including:
- County Summaries: Features 15 Metrics that Matter Most, industry-level employment and wages, and counties’ best performing metrics and their room for improvement
- One County – All Metrics: Includes all 132 indicators for a single county
- One Metric – All Counties: Includes all counties’ rankings and values for a single metric
With the addition of regional data, the county dashboard reveals immense opportunities for communities to collaborate, whether partnering to tackle shared challenges or adopting strategies from counties that have found success. The dashboard empowers policymakers, community advocates, and engaged Tennesseans with the data needed to make informed decisions and drive positive change in their communities.
Charting Tennessee’s Prosperity: 15 Metrics that Matter Most
Following a review of frameworks from peer organizations and academic research, ThinkTennessee identified 15 key metrics shown to improve economic mobility. The 2nd Edition of our county dashboard incorporates the Charting Tennessee’s Prosperity framework to track economic well-being and access to opportunity across all 95 counties.
A closer look at several of these key metrics reveals both meaningful progress and areas where more work is needed:
Declining poverty rates, rising homeownership and educational attainment, and above-average civic participation signals strong progress across Tennessee counties.
- Poverty rates are declining: In nearly two-thirds of counties, the share of residents living below the poverty line fell between 2016–2020 and 2020–2024. The county average dropped from 14.3% to 13.4%, and one-third of counties fall below that average.
- Homeownership is up, especially in rural areas: Two-thirds of counties (66) saw homeownership rates increase between 2016–2020 and 2020–2024, with rural counties leading the trend.
- Educational attainment is rising: In 86 out of 95 counties, post-high school educational attainment increased over the past five years — rising on average from 34.6% to 38.9% (2016–2020 to 2020–2024).
- Counties outperform statewide civic engagement benchmarks: 77 out of 95 counties exceeded the statewide registered voter turnout average of 64.0% in the last presidential election. In more than half of the counties (50 out of 95), volunteering and community group membership rates exceed the statewide average of 6.7%.
For many Tennesseans, however, the cost of housing and healthcare remains out of reach, early childhood enrollment is declining, and incarceration rates are on the rise.
- Rent costs are burdensome for both urban and rural residents: At least two-in-five renters (44.3%, on average) spend 30% or more of their income on housing costs, with both rural and urban counties posting higher-than-average renter cost burdens.
- Healthcare costs are a widespread burden: On average, Tennessee families spend 21.6% of their median income on healthcare costs when 9.96% is considered affordable, and residents in 74 out of 95 counties spend more than that average.
- More young children are not enrolled in early education: The share of young children not enrolled in school rose from 60.7% to 62.1% (2016–2020 to 2020–2024), and in 61 counties the share of children not in school exceeds the statewide average.
- Jail incarceration rates remains high: The average jail incarceration rate has increased from 3.65% in FY2021-22 to 3.87% in FY2024-25, and 54 out of 95 counties exceeded this average in FY2024-2525.
This dashboard and the Charting Tennessee’s Prosperity framework are designed to help policymakers, community advocates, and Tennesseans identify where their county’s biggest strengths and weaknesses are in order to prioritize limited resources to maximize meaningful impact and lasting change. Tennessee is a growing and thriving state. Progress is possible, and data helps us know where to focus first.
