county

Putnam County, TN

Demographic and economic profile of Putnam County, TN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Putnam County, centered on Cookeville, holds a labor force participation rate of 61.0% among a population of 84,894 that grew 6.4% over five years, with median worker earnings of $33,584 and a 3.8% unemployment rate. About 29.2% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and housing remains relatively affordable at a $246,800 median home value and $881 median monthly rent. The county's GDP per capita of $49,312 runs well above median household income of $58,912, and a median age of 36.0 reflects a comparatively young workforce, though a 16.9% poverty rate signals a meaningful share of the population outside economic stability.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

84,894

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$58,912

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.4% since 2018

Putnam County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone71,624 (86.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,036 (3.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone2,825 (3.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,008 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,905 (2.3%)
  • Asian Alone947 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish3,550
  2. 2.Other Indo-European362
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)256
  4. 4.Vietnamese238
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic152

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

4,146

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$49,312

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,508

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance9,101
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)5,488
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)5,456
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,394
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,523

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations14,670
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations7,880
  3. 3.Service Occupations6,921
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,754
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,572

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.46×)5,647
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.27×)5,388
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.21×)4,122
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.20×)2,744
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.12×)1,006

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$246,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$881/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9994,086 (19.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,663 (13.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,449 (11.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9992,421 (11.8%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9991,843 (9.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,486 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

29.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,584

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone30,729 (78.6%)
  • Worked At Home3,956 (10.1%)
  • Carpooled3,414 (8.7%)
  • Walked785 (2.0%)
  • Other96 (0.2%)
  • Public Transit85 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.