City · Crockett County, Tennessee

Bells, Tennessee

Bells is a city in Crockett County, Tennessee, part of the Jackson, TN metro area. It has 2,373 residents. Bells, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,534 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #229 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), pharmacies (high) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,534 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #229 of 305 in TN
Population: 2,373 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,000.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4704720

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety21#12,373/15,637
Economy25#11,753/15,631
Housing63#5,518/14,977
Health9#14,214/15,609
Healthcare4#14,965/15,650
Environment28#11,082/15,453
Education44#8,727/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,639/15,650
Community24#11,842/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,546/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Grocery stores · high4.3 /10k
99/100Tennessee 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrockett County value
Pharmacies · high3.6 /10k
99/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrockett County value
Social associations · high20.7 /10k
98/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrockett County value
Job growth · high2.5%
91/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCrockett County value
Child care cost burden · low22.4%
87/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrockett County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrockett County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low14 /100k
0/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrockett County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low18.0%
1/100Tennessee 67.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrockett County value
Restaurants and bars · low2.9 /10k
2/100Tennessee 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrockett County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Tennessee 4.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyCrockett County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Tennessee 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrockett County value
Traffic deaths · high34.4 /100k
5/100Tennessee 18.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataCrockett County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,736 (2015-2019) → 2,373 (2020-2024)
−13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
21.0% (2015-2019) → 43.8% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.1% (2015-2019) → 93.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.390 (2015-2019) → 0.591 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
16.7% (2015-2019) → 25.7% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Bells, Tennessee improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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

Broadband+14 points79.1% → 93.0%

Declined3

Inequality+0.2010.390 → 0.591
Child poverty+23 points21.0% → 43.8%
Price / income+1.0×2.0× → 3.0×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Bells, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.7 min2015-2019	21.2 min2020-2024	−2.5 min	Within the margin of error	75%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.7%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Broadband subscriptions	79.1%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Child poverty rate	21.0%2015-2019	43.8%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	3%
Effective property tax rate	0.80%2015-2019	0.80%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	81.1%2015-2019	84.8%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3902015-2019	0.5912020-2024	+0.201	Declined	0%
Median household income	$51,7502015-2019	$56,0272020-2024	+8.3%	Within the margin of error	15%
Poverty rate	16.7%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	+9 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	43.7%2015-2019	47.0%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.4%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	8%

“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 Bells, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bells, 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, Bells, Tennessee itself moved −8.4 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

2,373 residents (±390)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 women (−4.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,373 residents (±390)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

White58%1,374
Black20%†474
Hispanic or Latino17%†399
Asian0.0%0
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races5.3%†126

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

1,431 residents (±212)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

No high school diploma15%†217
High school or GED40%576
Some college25%†356
Associate degree4.7%†67
Bachelor's degree9.1%†130
Graduate degree5.9%†85

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

939 households (±147)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k28%†260
$25k–50k19%†181
$50k–75k22%†211
$75k–100k8.0%†75
$100k–150k11%†104
$150k–200k3.2%†30
$200k or more8.3%†78

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+8.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

939 households (±147)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own50%473
Rent50%466

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

449 households (±135)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $75029%†130
$750–1,00021%†94
$1,000–1,50048%†215

Home values

473 homes (±109)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $150k25%†120
$150k–250k64%301
$250k–400k9.3%†44

Age of homes

997 homes (±145)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

2010 or later6.8%†68
2000–200924%†244
1980–199937%†370

Size of homes

997 homes (±145)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom7.0%†70
2 bedrooms35%†352

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,187 workers (±211)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone95%1,124
Carpool2.8%†33
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.3%†27
Other0.3%†3

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (+3.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,160 workers (±208)

Bells, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under 15 min26%†306
15–29 min36%†420
30–44 min31%†364

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Jackson, TN

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 Crockett County, the county holding most of Bells's residents.

Crockett County has 234 employer establishments, 168 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Tennessee's), with 2,060 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,766. The Census Bureau also counts 1,087 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 234; 1,087 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 168; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 2,060
Average annual pay: $50,766; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	29	20.8	3.74×More than typical	67	$16,134	—
Restaurants and other eating places	15	10.7	0.58×Fewer than typical	124	$17,355	7
Specialty trade contractors	12	8.6	0.55×Fewer than typical	110	$114,945	99
Gasoline stations	11	7.9	2.43×More than typical	45	$22,667	—
Banks and credit unions	10	7.2	2.22×More than typical	65	$41,200	—
Ambulatory health care services	9	6.4	0.31×Too few to compare	87	$66,471	31
Lessors of real estate	7	5	0.41×Too few to compare	19	$42,000	47
Limited-service restaurants	7	5	0.62×Too few to compare	101	$17,802	3
Services to buildings and dwellings	7	5	0.74×Too few to compare	21	$36,857	153
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	6	4.3	2.69×Too few to compare	51	$41,725	3
General merchandise stores	6	4.3	2.43×Too few to compare	41	$23,244	9
Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars	6	4.3	1.70×Too few to compare	20	$6,850	—

Rank places for an industry Open Crockett County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 13,967 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: Bells is mostly in Crockett County.

See federal money in Crockett 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.

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

House

David KustoffR-TN-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.7%

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.

Crockett County21100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jackson, TN29

Other cities and towns in Crockett 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
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

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