Monroe County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Monroe County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                635 6th  1.5%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           92,570  52nd   0.8%
Number of Farms                 79,280                935  38th   1.2%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                 99  74th   71.7%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 45,648 33rd  0.7%
2000 Census 5,689,283 38,961 36th  0.7%
1990 Census 4,877,203 30,541 40th  0.6%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 8,420 24th  1.0%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 27.6% 18th  165.6%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               71.9 33rd  47.7%
2000 Census                   138.0               61.4 49th  44.5%
1990 Census                   118.3               48.1 57th  40.7%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968             8,509 50th  0.2%
1990 Census            2,969,948             8,087 40th  0.3%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 5.2% 49th  23.9%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 21.8% 56th  34.3%
1990 Census 60.9% 26.5% 45th  43.5%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 37 56th  102.5%
1990 Census 34 35 58th  103.3%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 24.7% 30th 
18-24 9.6% 8.7% 36th 
25-44 30.2% 28.6% 50th 
45-64 23.2% 24.8% 47th 
65 & over 12.4% 13.2% 63rd 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 25.4% 35th 
18-24 10.9% 10.8% 16th 
25-44 31.8% 29.1% 54th 
45-64 19.6% 21.0% 49th 
65 & over 12.6% 13.7% 61st 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Monroe County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 96.8 20th  101.6%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 9.9 14th  92.5%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 5.7 78th  121.3%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Monroe County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $23,444 71st  72.9%
2000 $26,097 $17,456 88th  66.9%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 5.04% 5th  141.95%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $37,823 44th  89.2%
2000 $35,760 $31,156 57th  87.1%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 2.81% 14th  114.22%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 17.2% 46th  108.86%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 25.0% 53rd  111.11%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 9.6% 9th  73.12%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 11.7% 10th  73.35%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 18.8% 56th  118.85%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 16.0% 53rd  113.06%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 1.4% 28th  57.40%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 0.1% 1st  5.25%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Monroe County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               13.0 39th  91.5%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 40.2% 58th  93.9%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 6.2% 4th  66.0%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               67.9 55th  84.1%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               16.5 81st  118.7%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                1.4 69th  107.7%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3               10.2 37th  109.7%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             214.8 26th  92.1%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             239.4 45th  111.2%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
54th 
74th 
54th 
Tennessee Monroe County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                0.5 57th  30.4%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                1.3 67th  31.9%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               42.7 68th  86.8%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 1.5% 57th  17.8%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Monroe County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 15.9% 90th  166.8%
2000 4.0% 5.5% 77th  137.2%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 22.7% 79th  145.1%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Monroe County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 13,789 31 0.5%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.0% 80 0.0%
Construction 4.9% 2.7% 40 56.3%
Manufacturing 13.8% 37.5% 23 271.2%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 18.1% 34 81.7%
Information 1.8% 0.5% 49 28.4%
Financial Activities 5.2% 4.4% 24 83.6%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 4.5% 36 38.0%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 9.4% 34 75.5%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 9.0% 28 89.2%
Other Services 2.6% 1.1% 42 42.0%
Government 14.9% 12.5% 37 83.7%
Federal 1.8% 0.7% 46 36.8%
State 3.3% 0.4% 32 11.8%
Local 9.9% 11.4% 34 115.8%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
42nd 
80th 
49th 
51st 
24th 
52nd 
48th 
34th 
51st 
45th 
85th 
80th 
48th 
64th 
37th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Monroe County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      404,826 61st 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         4,089 23rd 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 23,505,000 43rd 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Monroe County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    46,348 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    19,820 42.8%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        15,869 34.2%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         3,951 8.5%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      3,728 8.0%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $    22,799 49.2%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%        10,046 21.7%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         6,436 13.9%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         6,317 13.6%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Monroe County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      967,892
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $21,203 27th  100.1%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.03 71st 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $      319,019
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $6,989 13th  62.9%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 20th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Monroe County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $       47,110 69th 0.3%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355           23,700 39th 0.6%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735           16,213 24th 0.9%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           12,500 32nd 0.7%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201           12,000 27th 0.7%
Recreation            1,118,527           11,490 23rd 1.0%
Stormwater               371,227             4,500 14th 1.2%
Other Utilities               598,698             3,500 12th 0.6%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785             2,500 14th 0.9%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             1,500 43rd 0.6%
Public Buildings               526,288                850 50th 0.2%
Fire Protection               220,725                850 27th 0.4%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869                    - 43rd 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
Community Development               367,547                    - 50th 0.0%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                    - 30th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
School System-wide Need                 63,021                    - 16th 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  $      136,714 58th 0.4%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Monroe County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 66.7% 57th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 10.1% 52nd 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 49.9% 80th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 7.6% 55th 
 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 1
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* 134,278 114
Community Colleges 80,454 0
Technology Centers 13,939 0
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 114
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 Monroe County Sweetwater City  
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    5,487             1,516            
Percent of Statewide 0.6% 0.2%        
1997-1998                 834,318                    4,617             1,236            
Percent of Statewide 0.6% 0.1%        
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 869 280        
Percent Change 13.2% 18.8% 22.6%        
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 57.4% 72.3%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 42.3% 73.6%
Special Education 14.7% 16.9% 14.1%
English Language Learners 3.2% 1.7% 6.2%
Statewide Monroe County Sweetwater City  
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 100.0% 100.0%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 100.0% 0.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      16.8               15.3            
1997-1998                      15.8                      16.5               16.3            
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                        0.3                (1.0)                
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 98.1% 98.7%        
1997-1998 96.6% 99.0% 99.4%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% n/a 5.5%
1997-1998 4.5% 5.5% n/a
*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 Monroe County Sweetwater City  
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $6,920 $6,814
Percent of Statewide 89.4% 88.0%        
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,549 $4,228
Percent of Statewide 88.8% 82.5%        
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,371 $2,586        
Percent Change 51.1% 52.1% 61.2%        
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $41,361 $44,776
Percent of Statewide 92.3% 99.9%
1997-1998 $34,584 $28,535 $31,112
Percent of Statewide 82.5% 90.0%
Gain $10,236 $12,827 $13,664
Percent Change 29.6% 45.0% 43.9%        
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 53.3% 63.2%
Federal 10.8% 9.1% 13.0%
Local 41.6% 37.6% 23.8%
System Rank for Percent Local 33rd  89th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 61.7% 61.8%
Federal 11.0% 11.7% 12.3%
Local 43.5% 26.6% 26.0%
System Rank for Percent Local 78th  83rd 
Statewide Monroe County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $1,642 49th 
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