county

DeKalb County, TN

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

AI Overview

DeKalb County is a small rural Tennessee county of 20,551 residents that has grown 4.8% over five years, with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $36,950 and median worker earnings of $36,189. The labor pool is modest—labor force participation sits at 54.3% with 6.0% unemployment—and educational attainment is limited, with only 20.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $206,600 and median gross rent of $773/month, though a 21.4% poverty rate and per capita income of $28,137 point to constrained household purchasing power.

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

Population

20,551

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$53,153

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,453 (88.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone924 (4.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race552 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races416 (2.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone325 (1.6%)
  • Asian Alone231 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish856
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)65
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island39
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)12
  5. 5.Arabic11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,170

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,950

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,137

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,886
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,677
  3. 3.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities808
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)738
  5. 5.Construction (Group)687

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,737
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,227
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,806
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,160
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations983

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.22×)1,882
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.79×)243
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.62×)806
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.11×)653
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.98×)728

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$206,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$773/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999971 (15.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999898 (14.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999618 (9.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999617 (9.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999601 (9.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999476 (7.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,189

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,081 (81.7%)
  • Carpooled828 (9.6%)
  • Worked At Home575 (6.6%)
  • Walked76 (0.9%)
  • Other55 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit33 (0.4%)

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.