Obion County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Obion County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                545 26th  1.3%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798         251,844  5th   2.3%
Number of Farms                 79,280                693  49th   0.9%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                363  4th   263.0%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 31,375 47th  0.5%
2000 Census 5,689,283 32,450 43rd  0.6%
1990 Census 4,877,203 31,717 38th  0.7%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 733 91st  0.1%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 2.3% 93rd  13.9%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               57.6 47th  38.2%
2000 Census                   138.0               59.6 52nd  43.1%
1990 Census                   118.3               58.2 44th  49.2%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968           13,249 36th  0.4%
1990 Census            2,969,948           13,201 30th  0.4%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 0.4% 53rd  1.7%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 40.8% 30th  64.2%
1990 Census 60.9% 41.6% 28th  68.3%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 39 26th  107.8%
1990 Census 34 36 30th  107.5%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 23.4% 53rd 
18-24 9.6% 8.4% 53rd 
25-44 30.2% 27.7% 68th 
45-64 23.2% 25.4% 39th 
65 & over 12.4% 15.2% 24th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 24.9% 49th 
18-24 10.9% 9.7% 50th 
25-44 31.8% 28.8% 60th 
45-64 19.6% 21.1% 43rd 
65 & over 12.6% 15.5% 24th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Obion County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 96.1 22nd  100.8%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 8.0 55th  74.8%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 4.8 46th  102.1%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Obion County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $28,316 24th  88.0%
2000 $26,097 $24,338 18th  93.3%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 2.56% 81st  71.99%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $37,889 43rd  89.4%
2000 $35,760 $34,348 34th  96.1%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.41% 82nd  57.40%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 15.9% 34th  100.63%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 23.3% 37th  103.56%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 15.4% 57th  117.60%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 16.0% 30th  100.31%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 17.3% 48th  109.63%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 16.3% 55th  115.40%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 1.5% 31st  59.91%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 1.5% 37th  58.52%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Obion County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               12.9 40th  90.8%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 41.8% 66th  97.7%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 8.4% 32nd  89.4%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               75.0 28th  92.9%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               12.3 52nd  88.5%
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               11.7 74th  125.8%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             309.9 67th  132.9%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             251.0 56th  116.6%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
75th 
93rd 
75th 
Tennessee Obion County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                1.1 24th  58.4%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                5.4 11th  128.1%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2                9.8 93rd  20.0%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 6.4% 17th  75.2%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Obion County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 9.3% 19th  97.5%
2000 4.0% 4.4% 38th  109.8%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 20.7% 70th  132.1%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Obion County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 13,167 32 0.5%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.3% 63 78.9%
Construction 4.9% 4.0% 33 82.3%
Manufacturing 13.8% 33.9% 25 245.1%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 21.3% 32 96.5%
Information 1.8% 0.8% 34 45.0%
Financial Activities 5.2% 4.1% 28 78.2%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 5.5% 33 46.7%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 9.2% 36 74.5%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 7.5% 33 74.6%
Other Services 2.6% 1.3% 39 48.7%
Government 14.9% 11.9% 40 79.8%
Federal 1.8% 0.9% 35 50.1%
State 3.3% 0.2% 46 6.8%
Local 9.9% 10.8% 38 109.3%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
15th 
2nd 
33rd 
7th 
68th 
56th 
7th 
41st 
39th 
67th 
18th 
71st 
36th 
62nd 
38th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Obion County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      926,419 4th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         2,549 78th 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 85,584,000 4th 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Obion County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    39,758 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    15,034 37.8%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        11,573 29.1%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         3,461 8.7%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      2,628 6.6%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $    22,097 55.6%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%         9,032 22.7%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         7,934 20.0%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         5,131 12.9%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Obion County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      503,101
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $16,035 49th  75.7%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.20 58th 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $      286,609
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $9,135 13th  82.3%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.75% 1st 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Obion County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $      218,924 20th 1.3%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735             9,646 33rd 0.5%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355             5,355 80th 0.1%
Recreation            1,118,527             4,180 42nd 0.4%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             4,150 18th 1.7%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201             1,840 58th 0.1%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                500 19th 0.2%
Fire Protection               220,725                460 38th 0.2%
Public Buildings               526,288                200 65th 0.0%
Stormwater               371,227                200 34th 0.1%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869                    - 43rd 0.0%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581                    - 45th 0.0%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
Community Development               367,547                    - 50th 0.0%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785                    - 52nd 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  $      245,455 30th 0.7%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Obion County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 71.0% 33rd 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 10.3% 47th 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 61.3% 30th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 8.5% 45th 
 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 Obion County Union City  
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    3,987             1,376            
Percent of Statewide 0.4% 0.1%        
1997-1998                 834,318                    3,912             1,376            
Percent of Statewide 0.5% 0.2%        
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 75 1        
Percent Change 13.2% 1.9% 0.1%        
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 52.3% 59.8%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 38.3% 56.9%
Special Education 14.7% 16.8% 11.8%
English Language Learners 3.2% 2.0% 5.0%
Statewide Obion County Union 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% 100.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      15.2               12.6            
1997-1998                      15.8                      15.0               14.2            
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                        0.2                (1.6)                
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 97.6% 97.5%        
1997-1998 96.6% 97.3% 98.7%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 11.3% 5.2%
1997-1998 4.5% 4.7% 5.6%
*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 Obion County Union City  
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $6,981 $8,442
Percent of Statewide 90.2% 109.0%        
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,663 $5,856
Percent of Statewide 91.0% 114.3%        
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,318 $2,586        
Percent Change 51.1% 49.7% 44.2%        
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $41,487 $41,341
Percent of Statewide 92.6% 92.2%
1997-1998 $34,584 $32,284 $37,916
Percent of Statewide 93.3% 109.6%
Gain $10,236 $9,203 $3,425
Percent Change 29.6% 28.5% 9.0%        
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 59.2% 51.2%
Federal 10.8% 10.2% 12.2%
Local 41.6% 30.7% 36.6%
System Rank for Percent Local 59th  38th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 56.9% 47.6%
Federal 11.0% 10.1% 12.5%
Local 43.5% 33.0% 39.9%
System Rank for Percent Local 57th  32nd 
Statewide Obion County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $2,137 27th 
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