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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Tennessee

56.8% coverage

Tennessee's WIC program reaches 56.8% of eligible residents — an estimated 125,000 participants out of 220,000 who qualify. That leaves 95,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

220K

WIC eligibles

125K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

95K

Unserved eligibles

95

Counties

Tennessee by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Tennessee inherits the state's 56.8% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Tennessee at a glance

Coverage rate

56.8%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

43.2%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

220K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

125K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

95K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

197K

40.9% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 95 counties in Tennessee.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Shelby 43K
  2. 2 Davidson 26K
  3. 3 Knox 12K
  4. 4 Hamilton 10K
  5. 5 Rutherford 9K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Shelby 19K
  2. 2 Davidson 11K
  3. 3 Knox 5K
  4. 4 Hamilton 4K
  5. 5 Rutherford 4K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Johnson 71.9%
  2. 2 Hardin 71.8%
  3. 3 Lake 71.7%
  4. 4 Cocke 71.5%
  5. 5 DeKalb 70.1%

Every county in Tennessee

All 95 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Anderson 2,028 1,152 876 1,815 37.1%
Bedford 2,356 1,339 1,017 2,109 54.7%
Benton 595 338 257 533 54.5%
Bledsoe 522 296 226 467 66.3%
Blount 3,129 1,778 1,351 2,801 33.1%
Bradley 3,171 1,802 1,369 2,839 40.2%
Campbell 1,144 650 494 1,024 44.1%
Cannon 433 246 187 388 40.1%
Carroll 941 534 407 842 45.0%
Carter 1,777 1,010 767 1,591 61.0%
Cheatham 791 449 342 708 25.4%
Chester 608 345 263 544 52.2%
Claiborne 992 564 428 888 44.3%
Clay 242 138 104 217 56.8%
Cocke 1,957 1,112 845 1,752 71.5%
Coffee 2,338 1,328 1,010 2,093 47.2%
Crockett 592 336 256 530 54.5%
Cumberland 1,890 1,074 816 1,692 54.1%
Davidson 25,758 14,635 11,123 23,058 42.4%
Decatur 446 253 193 399 62.1%
DeKalb 1,375 781 594 1,231 70.1%
Dickson 961 546 415 860 23.9%
Dyer 1,051 597 454 941 36.0%
Fayette 689 392 297 617 26.1%
Fentress 685 389 296 613 47.4%
Franklin 1,269 721 548 1,136 43.4%
Gibson 1,918 1,090 828 1,717 46.6%
Giles 881 501 380 789 42.2%
Grainger 605 344 261 542 37.0%
Greene 1,876 1,066 810 1,679 43.0%
Grundy 474 269 205 424 47.8%
Hamblen 2,782 1,580 1,202 2,490 51.6%
Hamilton 9,649 5,483 4,166 8,638 34.3%
Hancock 298 169 129 267 58.8%
Hardeman 890 506 384 797 58.6%
Hardin 1,262 717 545 1,130 71.8%
Hawkins 1,745 991 754 1,562 45.0%
Haywood 716 407 309 641 55.4%
Henderson 812 461 351 727 37.8%
Henry 1,240 705 535 1,110 54.3%
Hickman 684 388 296 612 41.9%
Houston 124 70 54 111 25.5%
Humphreys 922 524 398 825 66.3%
Jackson 293 166 127 262 44.1%
Jefferson 1,385 787 598 1,240 42.3%
Johnson 647 367 280 579 71.9%
Knox 11,851 6,734 5,117 10,609 33.5%
Lake 227 129 98 203 71.7%
Lauderdale 1,017 578 439 910 52.3%
Lawrence 1,988 1,130 858 1,780 53.6%
Lewis 338 192 146 303 37.5%
Lincoln 1,249 710 539 1,118 46.6%
Loudon 1,771 1,006 765 1,585 48.6%
Macon 981 557 424 878 42.0%
Madison 3,667 2,084 1,583 3,283 44.3%
Marion 967 550 417 866 50.1%
Marshall 986 560 426 883 39.9%
Maury 3,409 1,937 1,472 3,052 40.9%
McMinn 1,318 749 569 1,180 36.1%
McNairy 934 531 403 836 49.5%
Meigs 445 253 192 398 48.9%
Monroe 1,486 844 642 1,330 55.7%
Montgomery 8,137 4,623 3,514 7,284 34.6%
Moore 115 65 50 103 29.3%
Morgan 433 246 187 388 34.9%
Obion 881 501 380 789 40.1%
Overton 721 409 312 645 45.7%
Perry 383 218 165 343 53.3%
Pickett 107 61 46 96 38.4%
Polk 363 206 157 325 32.4%
Putnam 2,643 1,502 1,141 2,366 44.3%
Rhea 1,540 875 665 1,379 61.2%
Roane 1,266 719 547 1,133 41.5%
Robertson 2,086 1,185 901 1,867 34.5%
Rutherford 8,815 5,009 3,806 7,891 30.0%
Scott 915 520 395 819 58.8%
Sequatchie 767 436 331 687 65.3%
Sevier 3,584 2,036 1,548 3,208 53.0%
Shelby 43,089 24,482 18,607 38,572 51.2%
Smith 753 428 325 674 51.6%
Stewart 256 145 111 229 24.2%
Sullivan 4,464 2,536 1,928 3,996 45.5%
Sumner 4,095 2,327 1,768 3,666 26.1%
Tipton 2,022 1,149 873 1,810 42.8%
Trousdale 260 148 112 233 32.5%
Unicoi 652 371 281 584 67.3%
Union 551 313 238 493 42.4%
Van Buren 216 122 94 193 51.3%
Warren 1,516 861 655 1,357 46.4%
Washington 2,997 1,703 1,294 2,683 36.3%
Wayne 411 234 177 368 44.7%
Weakley 1,185 673 512 1,061 55.7%
White 853 485 368 764 42.5%
Williamson 1,899 1,079 820 1,700 10.3%
Wilson 2,445 1,389 1,056 2,189 20.5%

Apply for WIC in Tennessee

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Tennessee's WIC agency.

Tennessee WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Tennessee.

Families guide

Tennessee SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Tennessee SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Tennessee's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Tennessee food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology