Macon County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Macon County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                307 72nd  0.7%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798         127,801  34th   1.2%
Number of Farms                 79,280             1,066  26th   1.3%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                120  59th   87.0%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 21,838 62nd  0.4%
2000 Census 5,689,283 20,386 62nd  0.4%
1990 Census 4,877,203 15,906 66th  0.3%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 4,480 40th  0.6%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 28.2% 16th  169.2%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               71.1 62nd  47.2%
2000 Census                   138.0               66.4 46th  48.1%
1990 Census                   118.3               51.8 50th  43.8%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968             3,765 61st  0.1%
1990 Census            2,969,948             3,641 65th  0.1%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 3.4% 50th  15.6%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 18.5% 62nd  29.0%
1990 Census 60.9% 22.9% 58th  37.6%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 36 79th  98.9%
1990 Census 34 35 61st  103.0%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 26.1% 14th 
18-24 9.6% 8.5% 39th 
25-44 30.2% 29.4% 35th 
45-64 23.2% 23.3% 71st 
65 & over 12.4% 12.7% 68th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 25.4% 37th 
18-24 10.9% 10.2% 27th 
25-44 31.8% 29.6% 44th 
45-64 19.6% 20.4% 60th 
65 & over 12.6% 14.3% 48th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Macon County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 99.4 7th  104.3%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 8.1 52nd  75.7%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 6.2 84th  131.9%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Macon County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $24,505 61st  76.2%
2000 $26,097 $20,923 51st  80.2%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 2.67% 77th  75.19%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $35,410 59th  83.5%
2000 $35,760 $31,119 58th  87.0%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.86% 56th  75.74%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 18.6% 60th  117.72%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 26.1% 58th  116.00%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 14.1% 42nd  107.39%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 20.0% 66th  125.28%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 20.5% 71st  129.43%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 18.9% 71st  134.12%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 2.1% 62nd  85.00%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 2.9% 84th  113.74%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Macon County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               13.1 36th  92.3%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 33.3% 19th  77.8%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 10.4% 76th  110.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               64.6 66th  80.0%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               18.2 89th  130.9%
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                9.8 28th  105.4%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             209.4 20th  89.8%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             300.5 85th  139.6%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
41st 
82nd 
41st 
Tennessee Macon County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                0.1 94th  7.6%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                1.2 71st  27.4%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               62.6 31st  127.2%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 1.9% 52nd  22.7%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Macon County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 12.9% 64th  135.3%
2000 4.0% 3.8% 20th  94.8%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 24.1% 83rd  153.8%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Macon County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 4,582 65 0.2%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 1.1% 80 287.6%
Construction 4.9% 19.5% 68 402.3%
Manufacturing 13.8% 63.9% 70 461.5%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 68.0% 58 307.4%
Information 1.8% 0.0% 22 0.0%
Financial Activities 5.2% 11.9% 54 228.5%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 19.5% 67 166.1%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 21.6% 63 174.2%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 30.0% 68 297.8%
Other Services 2.6% 9.3% 69 359.7%
Government 14.9% 44.7% 54 299.8%
Federal 1.8% 3.6% 77 204.2%
State 3.3% 0.4% 62 11.4%
Local 9.9% 40.7% 52 412.0%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
85th 
80th 
73rd 
89th 
72nd 
26th 
75th 
26th 
69th 
76th 
3rd 
87th 
68th 
49th 
59th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Macon County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      391,972 69th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         3,269 50th 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 22,784,000 45th 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Macon County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    28,093 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    15,313 54.5%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        13,117 46.7%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         2,196 7.8%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      2,232 7.9%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $    10,548 37.5%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%         5,278 18.8%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         1,552 5.5%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         3,718 13.2%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Macon County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      319,688
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $14,639 62nd  69.1%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.25 54th 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $      137,317
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $6,288 24th  56.6%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 22nd 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Macon County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $      116,074 39th 0.7%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355           27,500 36th 0.7%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           20,000 23rd 1.1%
Community Development               367,547             3,540 14th 1.0%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             3,210 26th 1.3%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869             3,000 27th 0.1%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735             2,006 61st 0.1%
Recreation            1,118,527             1,560 64th 0.1%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785                750 27th 0.3%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                600 18th 0.2%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201                590 68th 0.0%
Public Buildings               526,288                500 56th 0.1%
School System-wide Need                 63,021                500 8th 0.8%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
Stormwater               371,227                    - 39th 0.0%
Fire Protection               220,725                    - 57th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
Solid Waste                 54,314                    - 30th 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  $      179,830 44th 0.5%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Macon County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 60.2% 85th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 5.6% 94th 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 49.2% 82nd 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 5.5% 82nd 
 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 Macon County    
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    3,735               
Percent of Statewide 0.4%          
1997-1998                 834,318                    3,249               
Percent of Statewide 0.4%          
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 485          
Percent Change 13.2% 14.9%          
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 55.8%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 33.4%
Special Education 14.7% 13.6%
English Language Learners 3.2% 1.5%
Statewide Macon County    
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 100.0%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 100.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      16.4               
1997-1998                      15.8                      15.5               
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                        0.9                    
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 97.5%          
1997-1998 96.6% 94.9%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 9.7%
1997-1998 4.5% 5.8%
*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 Macon County    
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $6,477
Percent of Statewide 83.7%          
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,399
Percent of Statewide 85.9%          
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,079          
Percent Change 51.1% 47.3%          
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $40,330
Percent of Statewide 90.0%
1997-1998 $34,584 $29,682
Percent of Statewide 85.8%
Gain $10,236 $10,648
Percent Change 29.6% 35.9%          
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 68.9%
Federal 10.8% 11.7%
Local 41.6% 19.4%
System Rank for Percent Local 111st 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 68.3%
Federal 11.0% 11.6%
Local 43.5% 20.2%
System Rank for Percent Local 109th 
Statewide Macon County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $1,505 57th 
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