Union County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Union County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                224 86th  0.5%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           45,917  81st   0.4%
Number of Farms                 79,280                494  70th   0.6%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                 93  77th   67.4%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 19,008 67th  0.3%
2000 Census 5,689,283 17,808 67th  0.3%
1990 Census 4,877,203 13,694 74th  0.3%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 4,114 43rd  0.5%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 30.0% 14th  180.4%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               85.0 67th  56.4%
2000 Census                   138.0               79.7 37th  57.7%
1990 Census                   118.3               61.3 41st  51.8%
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 36 76th  99.7%
1990 Census 34 32 87th  96.7%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 25.7% 21st 
18-24 9.6% 8.9% 28th 
25-44 30.2% 31.0% 16th 
45-64 23.2% 23.6% 66th 
65 & over 12.4% 10.8% 86th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 26.8% 17th 
18-24 10.9% 10.7% 19th 
25-44 31.8% 31.6% 18th 
45-64 19.6% 20.0% 70th 
65 & over 12.6% 10.9% 87th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Union County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 97.1 6th  101.9%
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 4.3 35th  91.5%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Union County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $21,092 87th  65.6%
2000 $26,097 $17,492 86th  67.0%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 3.17% 56th  89.26%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $31,779 82nd  75.0%
2000 $35,760 $28,463 81st  79.6%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.59% 73rd  64.52%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 21.7% 81st  137.34%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 30.3% 78th  134.67%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 16.6% 72nd  126.28%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 20.4% 70th  128.25%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 20.1% 67th  126.90%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 20.0% 76th  141.62%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 1.9% 50th  77.02%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 1.7% 47th  65.70%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Union County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               14.4 15th  101.4%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 38.4% 47th  89.7%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 11.1% 80th  118.1%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               69.9 48th  86.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               12.6 54th  90.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                3.4 94th  261.5%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3                8.5 11th  91.4%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             175.4 8th  75.2%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             180.5 7th  83.8%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
n/a
1st 
n/a
Tennessee Union County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                0.3 80th  17.5%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2  n/a  n/a n/a
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2             118.0 11th  239.8%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% n/a n/a n/a
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Union County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 10.0% 27th  104.9%
2000 4.0% 3.9% 25th  97.3%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 21.5% 75th  137.5%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Union County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 2,602 79 0.1%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 3.2% 38 798.7%
Construction 4.9% 0.0% 83 0.0%
Manufacturing 13.8% 30.4% 69 219.9%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 17.6% 78 79.6%
Information 1.8% 0.7% 72 40.8%
Financial Activities 5.2% 2.3% 83 44.1%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 2.7% 79 22.5%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 7.9% 85 63.6%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 4.2% 85 41.6%
Other Services 2.6% 0.0% 87 0.0%
Government 14.9% 0.9% 90 6.2%
Federal 1.8% 0.9% 86 52.0%
State 3.3% 0.0% 68 0.0%
Local 9.9% 0.0% 68 0.0%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
31st 
25th 
83rd 
14th 
80th 
22nd 
91st 
88th 
61st 
35th 
80th 
45th 
87th 
68th 
68th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Union County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      340,540 88th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         3,664 34th 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $   4,097,000 91st 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Union County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    23,221 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    13,786 59.4%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        11,531 49.7%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         2,255 9.7%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      3,024 13.0%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $      6,411 27.6%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%         3,430 14.8%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         1,157 5.0%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         1,824 7.9%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Union County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      301,442
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $15,859 66th  74.9%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $1.79 85th 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $       64,505
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $3,394 7th  30.6%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 6th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Union County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $       80,073 53rd 0.5%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355             2,190 90th 0.1%
Recreation            1,118,527             1,296 68th 0.1%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             1,200 51st 0.5%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735             1,115 70th 0.1%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                450 21st 0.1%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869                    - 43rd 0.0%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201                    - 74th 0.0%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581                    - 45th 0.0%
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%
Community Development               367,547                    - 50th 0.0%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785                    - 52nd 0.0%
Fire Protection               220,725                    - 57th 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  $       86,324 74th 0.3%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Union County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 56.3% 92nd 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 5.8% 93rd 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 45.6% 90th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 4.5% 93rd 
 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 Union County    
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    2,989               
Percent of Statewide 0.3%          
1997-1998                 834,318                    2,755               
Percent of Statewide 0.3%          
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 234          
Percent Change 13.2% 8.5%          
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 66.0%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 46.9%
Special Education 14.7% 18.1%
English Language Learners 3.2% 0.4%
Statewide Union 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                      13.3               
1997-1998                      15.8                      15.6               
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (2.2)                    
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 98.1%          
1997-1998 96.6% 98.5%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 4.9%
1997-1998 4.5% 1.6%
*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 Union County    
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $8,011
Percent of Statewide 103.5%          
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,520
Percent of Statewide 88.2%          
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $3,490          
Percent Change 51.1% 77.2%          
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $40,350
Percent of Statewide 90.0%
1997-1998 $34,584 $27,338
Percent of Statewide 79.0%
Gain $10,236 $13,012
Percent Change 29.6% 47.6%          
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 72.3%
Federal 10.8% 12.8%
Local 41.6% 14.9%
System Rank for Percent Local 128th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 68.6%
Federal 11.0% 14.9%
Local 43.5% 16.6%
System Rank for Percent Local 125th 
Statewide Union County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $630 93rd 
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