Fentress County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Fentress County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                499 38th  1.2%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           84,371  56th   0.8%
Number of Farms                 79,280                623  55th   0.8%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                135  40th   97.8%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 17,667 72nd  0.3%
2000 Census 5,689,283 16,625 73rd  0.3%
1990 Census 4,877,203 14,669 68th  0.3%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 1,956 78th  0.2%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 13.3% 65th  80.1%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               35.4 72nd  23.5%
2000 Census                   138.0               33.3 88th  24.2%
1990 Census                   118.3               29.4 88th  24.9%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968                  -   71st  0.0%
1990 Census            2,969,948                  -   72nd  0.0%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% n/a n/a n/a
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 0.0% 71st  0.0%
1990 Census 60.9% 0.0% 72nd  0.0%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 38 39th  105.8%
1990 Census 34 35 58th  103.3%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 24.2% 40th 
18-24 9.6% 8.0% 72nd 
25-44 30.2% 28.1% 59th 
45-64 23.2% 26.1% 22nd 
65 & over 12.4% 13.7% 51st 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 26.1% 24th 
18-24 10.9% 10.3% 26th 
25-44 31.8% 29.4% 50th 
45-64 19.6% 20.9% 51st 
65 & over 12.6% 13.3% 65th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Fentress County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 95.8 45th  100.5%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 9.0 27th  84.1%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 6.6 89th  140.4%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Fentress County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $23,555 69th  73.2%
2000 $26,097 $18,598 73rd  71.3%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 4.02% 23rd  113.16%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $29,915 88th  70.6%
2000 $35,760 $24,099 92nd  67.4%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 3.14% 6th  127.55%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 25.0% 90th  158.23%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 36.5% 90th  162.22%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 12.8% 27th  97.81%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 17.0% 41st  106.74%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 28.6% 90th  180.71%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 25.9% 92nd  183.31%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 2.1% 64th  85.42%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 2.0% 62nd  80.49%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Fentress County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               11.7 68th  82.4%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 31.2% 11th  72.9%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 9.8% 69th  104.3%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               61.3 78th  76.0%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9                6.3 11th  45.3%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                  -   1st  0.0%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3               11.8 76th  126.9%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             380.9 86th  163.3%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             272.9 74th  126.8%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
90th 
95th 
90th 
Tennessee Fentress County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                0.7 45th  37.7%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                4.9 14th  116.0%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               53.9 47th  109.5%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 0.0% 77th  0.0%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Fentress County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 14.1% 78th  147.9%
2000 4.0% 7.6% 92nd  189.6%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 24.0% 82nd  153.2%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Fentress County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 4,250 67 0.2%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 3.0% 22 757.4%
Construction 4.9% 5.8% 50 119.7%
Manufacturing 13.8% 10.4% 79 75.5%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 29.3% 54 132.5%
Information 1.8% 0.6% 67 32.9%
Financial Activities 5.2% 4.8% 60 92.8%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 1.6% 80 13.6%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 18.6% 48 150.4%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 6.3% 70 62.9%
Other Services 2.6% 1.2% 75 44.8%
Government 14.9% 18.2% 61 122.3%
Federal 1.8% 0.9% 76 53.1%
State 3.3% 2.5% 15 75.9%
Local 9.9% 14.8% 61 150.0%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
79th 
71st 
60th 
90th 
62nd 
66th 
22nd 
73rd 
35th 
64th 
71st 
77th 
81st 
10th 
49th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Fentress County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      473,001 34th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         3,493 42nd 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 49,786,000 15th 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Fentress County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    22,985 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    11,536 50.2%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%         8,588 37.4%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         2,948 12.8%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      2,787 12.1%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $      8,661 37.7%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%         2,866 12.5%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         2,438 10.6%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         3,358 14.6%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Fentress County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      277,387
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $15,701 71st  74.1%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $1.34 92nd 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $      106,706
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $6,040 46th  54.4%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.50% 28th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Fentress County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $      804,406 4th 4.7%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           12,000 33rd 0.7%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201             9,430 37th 0.5%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355             7,200 76th 0.2%
School System-wide Need                 63,021             7,047 3rd 11.2%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             5,200 12th 2.2%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869             5,000 23rd 0.2%
Recreation            1,118,527             2,285 54th 0.2%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735             1,525 67th 0.1%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785                400 40th 0.1%
Community Development               367,547                300 43rd 0.1%
Solid Waste                 54,314                300 21st 0.6%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Public Buildings               526,288                    - 77th 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
Stormwater               371,227                    - 39th 0.0%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                    - 30th 0.0%
Fire Protection               220,725                    - 57th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
Other Facilities                 32,755                    - 9th 0.0%
Telecommunications                 17,009                    - 5th 0.0%
Property Acquisition                   3,956                    - 8th 0.0%
Grand Total  $       34,202,707  $      855,093 9th 2.5%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Fentress County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 57.3% 91st 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 8.3% 71st 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 44.9% 92nd 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 6.6% 71st 
 Number of Post-secondary Institutions (2008)      
Four-year Colleges and Universities 77 0
Public 14 0
Private 63 0
Other Public Institutions 93 0
Community Colleges 13 0
Technology Centers 27 0
Two-Year Private Institutions 20 0
Off-campus Sites 33 0
2007 - 2008 Enrollment (full-time equivalent) at Post-secondary Institutions    
Four-year Colleges and Universities*          214,260                     -  
Public 134,696 0
Private 79,564 0
Other Public Institutions* 134,278 0
Community Colleges 80,454 0
Technology Centers 13,939 0
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 0
Off-campus Sites 28,836 0
* Note: By location of instiution, not county of residence of students
IX.  Public School Systems  (Total number of school systems is 136)
Statewide Fentress County    
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    2,353               
Percent of Statewide 0.2%          
1997-1998                 834,318                    2,215               
Percent of Statewide 0.3%          
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 139          
Percent Change 13.2% 6.3%          
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 72.8%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 87.1%
Special Education 14.7% 18.1%
English Language Learners 3.2% 0.3%
Statewide Fentress County    
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 0.0%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 0.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      13.7               
1997-1998                      15.8                      14.1               
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (0.4)                    
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 97.5%          
1997-1998 96.6% 97.0%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 2.9%
1997-1998 4.5% 2.9%
*Classroom teachers include art, music and physical education teachers.  Because these auxiliary teachers are
included, ratios of students to classroom teachers do not represent and tend to be lower than actual class sizes.
Statewide Fentress County    
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $7,246
Percent of Statewide 93.6%          
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,809
Percent of Statewide 93.9%          
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,437          
Percent Change 51.1% 50.7%          
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $40,537
Percent of Statewide 90.4%
1997-1998 $34,584 $29,637
Percent of Statewide 85.7%
Gain $10,236 $10,900
Percent Change 29.6% 36.8%          
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 68.2%
Federal 10.8% 13.6%
Local 41.6% 18.1%
System Rank for Percent Local 115th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 65.3%
Federal 11.0% 14.7%
Local 43.5% 20.0%
System Rank for Percent Local 110th 
Statewide Fentress County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $1,603 52nd 
Sources of Information for County Profiles
I. Geography & Demographics
U.S. Bureau of the Census--all data except for marriage and divorce rates.
www.census.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
TN Dept. of Health - marriage and divorce rates.
http://health.state.tn.us/
II. Income & Poverty
U.S. Bureau of the Census--median household income data & poverty rates.
www.census.gov
TN Dept. of Human Services--Food Stamp data and Families First data.
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.htm
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_tanf.htm
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - per capita income data
www.bea.gov
III. Health & Healthcare
TN Dept.of Health, Health Statistics & Research--pregnancy, births, mortality & healthcare access data.
http://health.state.tn.us/statistics/healthdata.htm
IV. Employment
TN Dept. Of Labor and Workforce Development - unemployment data. 
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/
U.S. Department of Labor - employment data.
ww.bls.gov/lau/home.htm
V. Value of Farmland and Agricultural Product Sold
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
VI. County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
TN County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), Resource Center--county revenue data.
www.ctas.utk.edu
TN Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessment--equalized assessed property values.
http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/taxaggr.htm
TN Dept. of Revenue--total taxable sales.
www.state.tn.us/revenue/files.htm
VII. Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--all data. 
http://tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure.html
VIII. Adult & Post-secondary Education
U.S. Bureau of the Census--educational attainment.
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
TN Higher Education Commission--post-secondary institution and enrollment data.
www.state.tn.us/thec
IX. Public School Systems (Total number of school systems is 136)
TN Department of Education--all data except fiscal capacity.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mdata.shtml
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--education fiscal capacity.
http://tn.gov/tacir/fiscalcapacity.html
Prepared by TACIR