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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Tennessee

6 persistent-poverty counties

Tennessee has 6 persistent-poverty counties and 51 nonmetro counties — home to 108,974 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 13.8% and child poverty is 18.7%.

6

Persistent-poverty counties

51

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

109K

Residents in PPCs

95

Total counties

Tennessee by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Tennessee at a glance

Poverty rate

13.8%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

18.7%

Under 18

PPC share

6.3%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

53.7%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

1.96

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.22

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Tennessee's 137 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 95 in Tennessee.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Lake 0.73
  2. 2 Hancock 0.69
  3. 3 Scott 0.66
  4. 4 Johnson 0.65
  5. 5 Fentress 0.65

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Lake 32.3%
  2. 2 Hancock 31.5%
  3. 3 Pickett 25.8%
  4. 4 Bledsoe 25.0%
  5. 5 Scott 24.9%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Lake 32.3%
  2. 2 Hancock 31.5%
  3. 3 Scott 24.9%
  4. 4 Johnson 22.1%
  5. 5 Fentress 20.9%

Every county in Tennessee

All 95 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Anderson 2 — — 14.8% 18.5% 78,175 0.10
Bedford 4 — — 13.6% 22.8% 51,291 0.17
Benton 9 — Low ed., Pop. loss 18.5% 25.2% 15,948 0.37
Bledsoe 8 — Low emp., Low ed., Retire. 25.0% 39.0% 14,905 0.36
Blount 2 — Retire. 8.9% 11.2% 137,747 0.07
Bradley 3 — — 13.1% 15.7% 109,743 0.13
Campbell 2 — Low ed. 19.2% 21.2% 39,568 0.11
Cannon 1 — — 16.5% 23.2% 14,661 0.07
Carroll 6 — Pop. loss 16.4% 20.9% 28,461 0.25
Carter 3 — — 18.0% 25.6% 56,462 0.15
Cheatham 1 — — 8.1% 8.4% 41,500 0.03
Chester 3 — — 15.6% 21.1% 17,452 0.14
Claiborne 6 — — 18.2% 21.4% 32,221 0.26
Clay 8 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 21.7% 17.8% 7,621 0.35
Cocke 6 Yes Low ed., Retire. 20.3% 35.3% 36,503 0.57
Coffee 4 — — 16.1% 20.8% 58,940 0.18
Crockett 3 — — 14.8% 27.1% 13,937 0.13
Cumberland 4 — Retire. 13.4% 18.5% 62,529 0.17
Davidson 1 — Housing 13.9% 20.7% 709,846 0.06
Decatur 9 — Low ed., Retire. 21.6% 25.8% 11,499 0.39
DeKalb 8 — Low ed., Housing, Retire. 21.4% 31.5% 20,551 0.35
Dickson 1 — — 9.9% 11.0% 55,197 0.04
Dyer 6 — — 17.9% 20.0% 36,681 0.26
Fayette 1 — Retire. 10.8% 18.4% 42,653 0.04
Fentress 8 Yes Retire. 20.9% 29.3% 18,948 0.65
Franklin 7 — — 12.7% 19.9% 43,478 0.28
Gibson 3 — — 13.4% 14.5% 50,610 0.13
Giles 6 — — 14.3% 20.4% 30,442 0.24
Grainger 2 — Low ed., Retire. 16.4% 24.2% 23,929 0.10
Greene 4 — — 15.2% 20.4% 70,919 0.17
Grundy 8 — Low ed., Pop. loss 19.2% 21.0% 13,665 0.34
Hamblen 3 — — 17.2% 23.7% 64,930 0.14
Hamilton 2 — — 12.5% 19.0% 370,913 0.09
Hancock 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Retire. 31.5% 37.9% 6,790 0.69
Hardeman 6 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 17.3% 26.8% 25,477 0.26
Hardin 6 — Retire. 20.8% 24.2% 26,939 0.27
Hawkins 2 — — 17.1% 23.6% 57,446 0.11
Haywood 6 — Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 22.8% 32.6% 17,672 0.28
Henderson 6 — Low ed. 16.8% 19.9% 27,906 0.25
Henry 7 — Retire. 18.3% 29.4% 32,345 0.30
Hickman 1 — Low ed. 14.1% 18.8% 25,229 0.06
Houston 8 — Low ed. 13.8% 9.1% 8,293 0.32
Humphreys 8 — — 13.7% 22.4% 19,074 0.32
Jackson 8 — Low ed., Retire. 20.7% 21.8% 11,882 0.35
Jefferson 3 — Retire. 11.5% 16.3% 55,835 0.12
Johnson 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed. 22.1% 43.3% 18,073 0.65
Knox 2 — — 12.2% 13.7% 487,401 0.09
Lake 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 32.3% 41.1% 6,691 0.73
Lauderdale 6 — Low emp., Low ed. 18.7% 24.2% 24,933 0.26
Lawrence 6 — — 15.3% 17.9% 44,901 0.25
Lewis 8 — — 15.9% 12.1% 12,784 0.33
Lincoln 6 — — 12.4% 15.8% 35,617 0.24
Loudon 2 — Retire. 12.6% 23.5% 56,996 0.09
Macon 1 — Low ed., Retire. 15.2% 19.8% 25,793 0.06
Madison 3 — Housing 18.6% 29.7% 98,845 0.15
Marion 2 — — 16.9% 20.8% 29,010 0.11
Marshall 6 — — 14.2% 22.9% 35,276 0.24
Maury 1 — Retire. 9.9% 14.1% 104,855 0.04
McMinn 4 — — 13.3% 18.3% 54,135 0.17
McNairy 8 — Low ed. 16.1% 17.6% 25,933 0.33
Meigs 8 — Low ed., Retire. 14.3% 9.6% 13,076 0.32
Monroe 6 — Retire. 16.1% 23.0% 47,054 0.25
Montgomery 2 — — 11.6% 14.8% 227,957 0.08
Moore 9 — — 11.3% 6.6% 6,611 0.35
Morgan 2 — Low emp., Low ed. 18.8% 25.9% 21,193 0.11
Obion 7 — Low ed., Pop. loss 17.0% 21.2% 30,570 0.29
Overton 9 — Low ed. 18.0% 21.3% 22,807 0.37
Perry 9 — Low ed., Retire. 17.7% 33.7% 8,561 0.37
Pickett 9 — Retire. 25.8% 38.4% 5,062 0.40
Polk 3 — Retire. 13.3% 16.3% 17,702 0.13
Putnam 4 — — 16.9% 21.4% 81,366 0.18
Rhea 6 — — 15.3% 19.5% 33,299 0.25
Roane 2 — — 12.7% 16.5% 54,403 0.09
Robertson 1 — — 10.2% 13.5% 74,291 0.04
Rutherford 1 — — 9.2% 10.6% 351,591 0.04
Scott 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed. 24.9% 33.0% 21,969 0.66
Sequatchie 2 — Retire. 23.6% 39.8% 16,409 0.13
Sevier 4 — Retire. 13.6% 20.3% 98,802 0.17
Shelby 1 — Housing 17.5% 25.8% 922,195 0.07
Smith 1 — — 13.3% 17.2% 20,196 0.05
Stewart 2 — — 12.0% 15.4% 13,859 0.09
Sullivan 2 — — 14.9% 24.5% 159,693 0.10
Sumner 1 — — 9.0% 12.9% 200,553 0.04
Tipton 1 — — 11.6% 17.3% 61,339 0.05
Trousdale 1 — Low emp., Low ed., Housing 10.3% 12.9% 11,805 0.04
Unicoi 3 — — 14.2% 17.3% 17,779 0.13
Union 2 — Low ed. 13.9% 21.5% 20,141 0.09
Van Buren 9 — Low ed., Retire. 13.8% 15.0% 6,293 0.36
Warren 6 — Low ed. 15.3% 19.1% 41,587 0.25
Washington 3 — — 15.8% 17.3% 134,693 0.14
Wayne 8 — Low emp., Low ed. 18.5% 19.7% 16,251 0.34
Weakley 6 — — 19.3% 26.0% 32,959 0.26
White 7 — Retire. 14.7% 18.1% 27,764 0.28
Williamson 1 — — 4.5% 4.4% 254,609 0.02
Wilson 1 — Retire. 7.6% 9.1% 153,587 0.03

Find a food pantry in Tennessee

Search Tennessee's 137 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Tennessee pantry directory

Tennessee SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Tennessee SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Tennessee food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology