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PantryPath Research · Child Poverty Atlas

Child Poverty in
Tennessee

Tennessee's child poverty rate is 18.9% across 95 counties, meaning 291K children under 18 live in households below the federal poverty line. Use the interactive map below to see how poverty varies within the state.

18.9%

Child poverty rate (0–17)

291K

Children in poverty

13.8%

All-ages poverty

$67,651

Median income

Tennessee by county

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Toggle between five SAIPE metrics to see how poverty varies within Tennessee. Hover a county for its exact rate.

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Lower
Higher

Tennessee at a glance

Children in poverty

291K

Ages 0–17

Child poverty rate

18.9%

Ages 0–17

5–17 poverty rate

18.4%

Title I allocator

All-ages poverty

13.8%

Entire population

Concentration

1.37×

Child ÷ all-ages

Median income

$67,651

Inflation-adjusted

County-level hotspots

Five-county rankings across 95 counties in Tennessee.

Highest child poverty

Ages 0–17, rate

  1. 1 Lake County 45.2%
  2. 2 Lauderdale County 36.6%
  3. 3 Hancock County 36.0%
  4. 4 Clay County 29.8%
  5. 5 Hardeman County 29.5%

Lowest child poverty

Ages 0–17, rate

  1. 1 Williamson County 4.7%
  2. 2 Wilson County 8.4%
  3. 3 Rutherford County 11.5%
  4. 4 Sumner County 11.9%
  5. 5 Cheatham County 12.4%

Most children in poverty

Absolute count, ages 0–17

  1. 1 Shelby County 64K
  2. 2 Davidson County 25K
  3. 3 Knox County 16K
  4. 4 Hamilton County 15K
  5. 5 Rutherford County 10K

Every county in Tennessee

All 95 counties across the five SAIPE metrics plus median income.

County Children 0–17 Ages 5–17 All ages Concentration Child count Median income
Anderson County 18.2% 16.3% 14.4% 1.26× 2,995 $61,009
Bedford County 19.0% 18.3% 13.3% 1.43× 2,474 $69,272
Benton County 27.3% 26.9% 17.6% 1.55× 869 $52,795
Bledsoe County 28.1% 27.2% 21.6% 1.30× 638 $50,731
Blount County 13.1% 12.3% 9.7% 1.35× 3,570 $77,206
Bradley County 19.3% 17.6% 15.0% 1.29× 4,562 $61,440
Campbell County 25.7% 26.2% 20.6% 1.25× 2,077 $50,443
Cannon County 21.8% 21.0% 14.4% 1.51× 704 $60,098
Carroll County 21.9% 20.8% 17.4% 1.26× 1,344 $51,159
Carter County 23.0% 23.2% 16.9% 1.36× 2,218 $48,885
Cheatham County 12.4% 11.8% 8.7% 1.43× 1,093 $82,030
Chester County 21.3% 19.5% 16.7% 1.28× 791 $65,714
Claiborne County 27.0% 25.9% 18.6% 1.45× 1,628 $53,195
Clay County 29.8% 29.4% 21.2% 1.41× 448 $46,575
Cocke County 28.7% 27.2% 20.4% 1.41× 2,149 $47,491
Coffee County 19.4% 19.5% 14.5% 1.34× 2,753 $65,038
Crockett County 20.5% 20.0% 14.9% 1.38× 648 $56,083
Cumberland County 24.3% 22.7% 14.6% 1.66× 2,603 $60,632
Davidson County 17.3% 18.2% 12.3% 1.41× 24,615 $80,216
Decatur County 24.0% 22.2% 19.2% 1.25× 560 $52,000
DeKalb County 22.0% 20.1% 16.3% 1.35× 981 $57,936
Dickson County 13.6% 13.5% 9.9% 1.37× 1,698 $74,028
Dyer County 23.9% 24.5% 17.7% 1.35× 2,060 $57,548
Fayette County 18.5% 20.5% 12.8% 1.45× 1,408 $76,680
Fentress County 26.6% 25.4% 18.9% 1.41× 1,060 $47,860
Franklin County 19.1% 18.1% 12.9% 1.48× 1,612 $64,243
Gibson County 19.2% 18.5% 14.7% 1.31× 2,344 $57,630
Giles County 21.9% 21.1% 15.3% 1.43× 1,350 $60,422
Grainger County 21.7% 21.6% 15.5% 1.40× 1,001 $57,132
Greene County 19.8% 18.6% 14.8% 1.34× 2,642 $54,188
Grundy County 26.9% 26.8% 22.8% 1.18× 790 $41,370
Hamblen County 21.7% 20.2% 17.3% 1.25× 3,343 $55,904
Hamilton County 19.0% 18.8% 12.9% 1.47× 14,918 $73,319
Hancock County 36.0% 35.0% 26.7% 1.35× 516 $39,077
Hardeman County 29.5% 29.5% 21.5% 1.37× 1,451 $47,551
Hardin County 24.2% 24.4% 19.7% 1.23× 1,300 $49,126
Hawkins County 22.2% 21.1% 17.2% 1.29× 2,416 $54,454
Haywood County 28.9% 28.4% 21.0% 1.38× 1,089 $42,579
Henderson County 18.2% 18.0% 14.0% 1.30× 1,125 $55,656
Henry County 26.2% 24.4% 18.3% 1.43× 1,659 $52,064
Hickman County 21.8% 20.6% 15.9% 1.37× 1,160 $59,650
Houston County 22.6% 22.2% 17.0% 1.33× 388 $56,951
Humphreys County 20.1% 19.1% 14.7% 1.37× 732 $63,017
Jackson County 27.4% 26.2% 20.0% 1.37× 603 $48,285
Jefferson County 18.1% 17.5% 12.9% 1.40× 1,959 $62,730
Johnson County 28.0% 27.1% 20.9% 1.34× 819 $51,597
Knox County 15.8% 14.9% 13.8% 1.14× 16,172 $70,457
Lake County 45.2% 44.5% 34.0% 1.33× 422 $40,778
Lauderdale County 36.6% 29.3% 24.6% 1.49× 1,961 $51,486
Lawrence County 20.1% 19.5% 14.9% 1.35× 2,274 $55,845
Lewis County 21.4% 21.0% 16.1% 1.33× 598 $55,231
Lincoln County 18.9% 19.1% 14.5% 1.30× 1,499 $60,974
Loudon County 15.9% 15.6% 10.5% 1.51× 1,766 $81,605
Macon County 22.4% 21.0% 16.2% 1.38× 1,458 $57,496
Madison County 27.7% 26.9% 18.6% 1.49× 6,015 $60,663
Marion County 21.5% 20.0% 15.1% 1.42× 1,262 $57,109
Marshall County 15.2% 14.8% 10.7% 1.42× 1,289 $73,770
Maury County 13.8% 13.2% 10.7% 1.29× 3,393 $74,164
McMinn County 19.5% 19.1% 14.9% 1.31× 2,260 $55,852
McNairy County 21.2% 20.5% 15.5% 1.37× 1,161 $54,516
Meigs County 23.1% 22.4% 15.6% 1.48× 623 $56,161
Monroe County 21.2% 20.5% 16.0% 1.33× 2,048 $58,980
Montgomery County 15.7% 15.9% 12.6% 1.25× 9,815 $74,701
Moore County 12.8% 12.8% 9.9% 1.29× 165 $66,435
Morgan County 19.6% 18.1% 16.2% 1.21× 809 $55,668
Obion County 27.0% 26.4% 19.3% 1.40× 1,767 $54,428
Overton County 19.1% 18.7% 14.3% 1.34× 915 $52,236
Perry County 26.1% 25.9% 17.5% 1.49× 511 $50,014
Pickett County 25.0% 24.8% 16.6% 1.51× 208 $46,177
Polk County 19.8% 19.4% 15.0% 1.32× 656 $57,045
Putnam County 18.6% 19.4% 17.3% 1.08× 3,171 $57,896
Rhea County 21.4% 20.6% 16.0% 1.34× 1,528 $57,682
Roane County 16.5% 16.3% 13.4% 1.23× 1,708 $65,970
Robertson County 13.6% 13.3% 9.9% 1.37× 2,443 $81,529
Rutherford County 11.5% 11.5% 9.1% 1.26× 10,150 $81,987
Scott County 25.1% 25.8% 21.0% 1.20× 1,261 $46,923
Sequatchie County 21.9% 22.7% 15.1% 1.45× 742 $62,157
Sevier County 18.3% 17.8% 12.2% 1.50× 3,674 $60,704
Shelby County 28.1% 27.7% 18.2% 1.54× 63,637 $62,402
Smith County 16.5% 16.0% 11.7% 1.41× 742 $72,153
Stewart County 17.5% 16.5% 12.9% 1.36× 502 $60,634
Sullivan County 19.0% 17.4% 13.5% 1.41× 5,724 $57,016
Sumner County 11.9% 11.7% 8.9% 1.34× 5,534 $86,376
Tipton County 24.7% 21.6% 14.8% 1.67× 3,526 $70,886
Trousdale County 16.5% 15.8% 15.8% 1.04× 375 $62,658
Unicoi County 22.0% 20.8% 12.3% 1.79× 685 $54,955
Union County 23.4% 23.4% 15.9% 1.47× 993 $64,244
Van Buren County 23.6% 23.7% 14.7% 1.61× 307 $58,584
Warren County 22.5% 22.5% 17.6% 1.28× 2,167 $49,436
Washington County 18.1% 17.6% 16.3% 1.11× 4,534 $62,028
Wayne County 23.5% 24.1% 18.0% 1.31× 604 $51,817
Weakley County 20.9% 21.0% 18.6% 1.12× 1,270 $55,285
White County 19.7% 18.3% 13.7% 1.44× 1,178 $63,690
Williamson County 4.7% 4.3% 4.9% 0.96× 3,101 $136,007
Wilson County 8.4% 8.3% 6.6% 1.27× 3,152 $96,466

Help for families in Tennessee

Free meals, WIC, SNAP, and nutrition help for children in low-income households.

Families & children guide

Tennessee SNAP benefits

State-by-state SNAP eligibility, apply online, benefit amounts, and coverage gaps.

Tennessee SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Tennessee's verified pantries — by ZIP, city, or county.

Tennessee food pantries