Official Federal Data
Smith County, Tennessee
FIPS 47159 · Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN · Population 20,389
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$66,293 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.3% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$843M ▼
GDP
18.5% ▲
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
$66,293 ▲
Per Capita
$33,386 ▲
Mean Household
$85,956 ▲
Poverty Rate
10% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Smith County$66,293
Tennessee$69,595
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 22.4%
18-34 · 20.2%
35-54 · 25.6%
55-64 · 15.2%
65+ · 16.7%
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+
88%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 1.6 pts
18.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 17.2 pts
5.7%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.4 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
20,389
Population
10,067
Labor Force
Employed
9,799
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.3% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 17.2 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 1,245 workers (43.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,350.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $843M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $121,728 while Retail Trade averages $33,640, a 3.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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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
1,543
Cluster Employment
2.19x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
General Merchandise Retailers
2.52x 254
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.51x 82
2.19x 1,543
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.98x 73
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.41x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
115 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: General Merchandise Retailers concentrates at 2.52x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 4 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 4 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
$243,800 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$922 ▲
Rent/Mo
76.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
9.4% ▼
Vacancy
3.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$796/mo
1 Bedroom
$801/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,051/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,368/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,392/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,657/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.7x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- High home ownership: 76.9% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,657/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
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
12,424 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
79.8%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
18.5% ▲
HS Diploma+
88% ▲
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
25%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
31.3%
Service
13.8%
Sales & Office
18.6%
Construction / Maint.
12.6%
Production / Transport
23.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 9,799 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 25% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- 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
Smith County shows emerging potential for general merchandise retailers attraction, with a 2.52x concentration and 254 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across general merchandise retailers, gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and 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
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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 Smith County, Tennessee, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Smith County, Tennessee?
20,389 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Smith County, Tennessee?
$66,293 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Smith County, Tennessee?
3.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Smith County, Tennessee?
$843M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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