Town · DeKalb County, Tennessee

Alexandria, Tennessee

Alexandria is a town in DeKalb County, Tennessee. It has 1,136 residents. Alexandria, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 13 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,636 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #240 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), property crime rate (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), depression (high) and frequent mental distress (high).

13Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,636 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #240 of 305 in TN
Population: 1,136 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 942.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4700620

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety25#11,777/15,637
Economy13#13,631/15,631
Housing51#7,411/14,977
Health1#15,506/15,609
Healthcare21#12,317/15,650
Environment90#1,539/15,453
Education13#13,666/15,649
Infrastructure4#14,980/15,650
Community10#14,045/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,365/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alexandria, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “DeKalb County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.33%
96/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · low345 /100k
95/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDeKalb County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low108 min
93/100Tennessee 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeKalb County value
Child care cost burden · low21.6%
90/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDeKalb County value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataDeKalb County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high61.2 /100k
1/100Tennessee 27.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDeKalb County value
Depression · high33.3%
1/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high24.1%
1/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · high25.4%
2/100Tennessee 21.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Tennessee 9.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeKalb County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high160 mi
4/100Tennessee 93 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDeKalb County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,002 (2015-2019) → 1,136 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.5% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
6.2% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.9% (2015-2019) → 58.5% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
29.7% (2015-2019) → 37.9% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alexandria, Tennessee improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++9.6 points6.2% → 15.8%

Declined1

Price / income+1.5×2.9× → 4.4×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Alexandria, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.4 min2015-2019	43.0 min2020-2024	+6.5 min	Within the margin of error	6%
Bachelor's degree or higher	6.2%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Improved	89%
Broadband subscriptions	68.5%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Child poverty rate	29.7%2015-2019	37.9%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.44%2015-2019	0.33%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	4.4×2020-2024	+1.5×	Declined	9%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.4482020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$40,3752015-2019	$50,1162020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	42%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent-burdened households	48.9%2015-2019	58.5%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Within the margin of error	25%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alexandria, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alexandria, Tennessee in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alexandria, Tennessee itself moved −9.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,136 residents (±305)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

478 households (±118)

Alexandria, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k33%†158
$25k–50k17%†79
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

478 households (±118)

Alexandria, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own61%†292
Rent39%†186

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

527 workers (±182)

Alexandria, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone74%†389
Carpool17%†88
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of DeKalb County, the county holding most of Alexandria's residents.

DeKalb County has 339 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Tennessee's), with 4,323 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,806. The Census Bureau also counts 1,778 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 339; 1,778 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 4,323
Average annual pay: $44,806; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of DeKalb County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	27	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	164	$47,701	51
Restaurants and other eating places	22	10.3	0.56×Fewer than typical	346	$16,026	19
Specialty trade contractors	22	10.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	93	$45,957	235
Religious organizations	18	8.5	1.52×More than typical	95	$18,832	—
Lessors of real estate	14	6.6	0.53×Fewer than typical	17	$42,000	111
Offices of physicians	14	6.6	1.01×About typical	66	$58,652	12
Full-service restaurants	12	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	91	$19,198	10
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	5.6	0.84×About typical	29	$30,241	208
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	9	4.2	1.59×Too few to compare	45	$53,467	4
Building equipment contractors	9	4.2	0.70×Too few to compare	44	$54,250	48
Gasoline stations	9	4.2	1.30×Too few to compare	54	$20,852	—
Limited-service restaurants	9	4.2	0.53×Too few to compare	254	$14,894	5

Rank places for an industry Open DeKalb County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 21,301 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alexandria is mostly in DeKalb County.

See federal money in DeKalb County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alexandria, Tennessee is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

John W. RoseR-TN-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 5.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

DeKalb County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in DeKalb County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4700620

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends