Town · Tipton County, Tennessee

Atoka, Tennessee

Atoka is a town in Tipton County, Tennessee, part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. It has 10,385 residents. Atoka, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 27 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,377 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #112 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), job growth (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on mammography screening (low), restaurants and bars (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

27Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,377 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #112 of 305 in TN
Population: 10,385 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 853.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4702340

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.

Safety20#12,574/15,637
Economy73#4,229/15,631
Housing85#2,254/14,977
Health17#12,976/15,609
Healthcare8#14,441/15,650
Environment22#12,118/15,453
Education69#4,774/15,649
Infrastructure49#7,969/15,650
Community18#12,874/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,159/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Atoka, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Tipton 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

Child care cost burden · low17.7%
99/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value
Job growth · high2.9%
93/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataTipton County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.359
92/100Tennessee 0.476United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value
Rent as share of income · low22.1%
85/100Tennessee 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Effective property tax rate · low0.54%
84/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Mammography screening · low33.0%
4/100Tennessee 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.8 /10k
4/100Tennessee 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTipton County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.4 /10k
5/100Tennessee 5.5 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTipton County value
Depression · high29.2%
6/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Homicide rate · high11.3 /100k
6/100Tennessee 7.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataTipton County value
Primary care physicians · low23 /100k
6/100Tennessee 69 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
9,241 (2015-2019) → 10,385 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+68%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
9.7 /1k (2021) → 3.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−62%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
37.5% (2015-2019) → 25.3% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.9% (2015-2019) → 35.2% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.6% (2015-2019) → 95.5% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Atoka, Tennessee improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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

Broadband+6.9 points88.6% → 95.5%

Declined1

Price / income+1.4×2.1× → 3.6×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Atoka, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.6 min2015-2019	36.2 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.9%2015-2019	35.2%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Broadband subscriptions	88.6%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Improved	43%
Effective property tax rate	0.74%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	59%
High school diploma or higher	96.9%2015-2019	95.1%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.4×	Declined	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3602015-2019	0.3602020-2024	−0.000	Within the margin of error	51%
Median household income	$91,6872015-2019	$89,6632020-2024	−2.2%	Within the margin of error	6%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.9%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.5%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Atoka, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Atoka, 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, Atoka, Tennessee itself moved −3.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

10,385 residents (±24)

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

3,770 households (±297)

Atoka, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k6.9%†259
$25k–50k14%†521
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,770 households (±297)

Atoka, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own85%3,207
Rent15%†563

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

4,971 workers (±440)

Atoka, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone79%3,942
Carpool5.7%†282
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR

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 Tipton County, the county holding most of Atoka's residents.

Tipton County has 777 employer establishments, 125 for every 10,000 residents (0.51× the US rate of 248; 0.60× Tennessee's), with 10,691 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,674. The Census Bureau also counts 4,682 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 777; 4,682 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 125; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 10,691
Average annual pay: $44,674; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	83	13.4	0.87×About typical	1,222	$79,990	471
Restaurants and other eating places	65	10.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	1,091	$18,000	22
Ambulatory health care services	62	10	0.48×Fewer than typical	467	$65,623	137
Religious organizations	53	8.6	1.54×More than typical	358	$22,249	—
Building equipment contractors	42	6.8	1.13×About typical	449	$59,998	120
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	30	4.8	1.47×More than typical	333	$56,508	66
Full-service restaurants	28	4.5	0.59×Fewer than typical	356	$20,874	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	28	4.5	0.67×Fewer than typical	129	$45,899	481
Gasoline stations	26	4.2	1.29×More than typical	173	$21,665	—
Limited-service restaurants	26	4.2	0.52×Fewer than typical	677	$17,049	9
Truck transportation	21	3.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	121	$51,273	137
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	3.2	0.64×Fewer than typical	103	$45,417	129

Rank places for an industry Open Tipton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 61,957 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

In FY2026, an estimated $595 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Atoka, Tennessee: $0.06 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $595
Per resident: $0.06; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 53%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

ALBRITTON CONSULTING LLC$31353%
CARTRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC$28247%

Spending by fiscal year

30.2KFY2017
3.8MFY2018
2MFY2019
5.8MFY2020
3.7MFY2021
0FY2022
634.7KFY2023
233KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$31353%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing · 5324$28247%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Atoka, Tennessee

FIELD INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES$62.6K
ALBRITTON CONSULTING LLC· Tipton County, TN· Professional services· Apr 16, 2021 – May 27, 2026· 15A00021FAQ000117

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Atoka, Tennessee, so they do not add up across cities.

Atoka, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Tipton County, TN ($217.6K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Tipton 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.

Atoka, Tennessee is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Tipton County25100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR15

Other cities and towns in Tipton 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/4702340

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends