county

Unicoi County, TN

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

AI Overview

Unicoi County is a small rural county in northeast Tennessee with a population of 17,779 and a largely stable demographic profile — population growth has been flat and the median age sits at 46.9 years. The labor force is limited, with a participation rate of 53.7% and an unemployment rate of 5.2%; 88.0% of residents hold a high school diploma or higher, though only 20.0% have a bachelor's degree, and median worker earnings stand at $36,674. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $168,200 and median gross rent of $665/month, while a 72.9% homeownership rate and a poverty rate of 14.2% reflect a modest, cost-contained local economy.

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

Population

17,779

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$52,218

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.0% since 2018

Unicoi County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,139 (90.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,062 (6.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races267 (1.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone120 (0.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone100 (0.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone43 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish813
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic32

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,394

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,906

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,087

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,060
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,370
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)775
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services688
  5. 5.Construction (Group)672

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,776
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,568
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,531
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,104
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations808

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.81×)1,371
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.42×)510
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.29×)680
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.28×)570
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.12×)1,995

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$168,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$665/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999891 (15.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999683 (12.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999550 (9.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999441 (7.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999432 (7.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999419 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,674

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,396 (82.8%)
  • Carpooled672 (8.7%)
  • Worked At Home464 (6.0%)
  • Walked104 (1.3%)
  • Other84 (1.1%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.