Official Federal Data
Rutherford County, Tennessee
FIPS 47149 · Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN · Population 360,646
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$85,470 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$27.6B ▲
GDP
35.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$85,470 ▲
Per Capita
$39,158 ▲
Mean Household
$105,834 ▲
Poverty Rate
9.3% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Rutherford County$85,470
Tennessee$69,595
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.7%
18-34 · 26.3%
35-54 · 27.1%
55-64 · 10.7%
65+ · 11.2%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.8 pts
35.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +0.1 pts
11.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 2.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
360,646
Population
202,156
Labor Force
Employed
194,366
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.9% ▲ +0.1 pts YoY
Mean Commute 2 min above national avg
28.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15%
Key Takeaways
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 27,301 workers (23.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $93,525.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $27.6B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $97,696 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $25,624, a 3.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
34,404
Cluster Employment
1.60x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
8.59x 14,142
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
7.46x 3,061
Warehousing and Storage
3.19x 5,747
Couriers and Messengers
2.33x 2,482
Truck Transportation
2.27x 3,188
Food Manufacturing
1.89x 3,173
Paper Manufacturing
1.69x 562
1.60x 34,404
Rental and Leasing Services
1.58x 854
Support Activities for Transportation
1.57x 1,216
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.14x
Crop Production
70 employed
0.14x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
59 employed
0.16x
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
83 employed
0.20x
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
61 employed
0.32x
Machinery Manufacturing
329 employed
0.40x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
4,053 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing concentrates at 8.59x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$382,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,502 ▲
Rent/Mo
64.8% ▼
Owner-Occ
6.8% ▲
Vacancy
4.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,507/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,578/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,730/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,211/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,696/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,137/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.5x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,137/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
231,245 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 2 min above national avg
28.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.1%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
35.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
92.4% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
26,245/yr
8,049/yr
4,862/yr
4,677/yr
3,604/yr
2,551/yr
2,502/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
39.7%
Service
14.7%
Sales & Office
20.4%
Construction / Maint.
8.9%
Production / Transport
16.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 194,366 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 17,588 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Rutherford County shows strong potential for transportation equipment manufacturing attraction, with a 8.59x concentration and 14,142 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across transportation equipment manufacturing, electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing, and warehousing and storage creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Rutherford County, Tennessee, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Rutherford County, Tennessee?
360,646 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Rutherford County, Tennessee?
$85,470 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Rutherford County, Tennessee?
2.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Rutherford County, Tennessee?
$27.6B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
Rutherford County, TN: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →