City · Clay County, Tennessee

Celina, Tennessee

Celina is a city in Clay County, Tennessee. It has 1,941 residents. Celina, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,706 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #244 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), property crime rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on social associations (low), depression (high) and access to exercise opportunities (low).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,706 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #244 of 305 in TN
Population: 1,941 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,053.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4712100

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety72#4,379/15,637
Economy4#15,030/15,631
Housing71#4,339/14,977
Health2#15,322/15,609
Healthcare4#14,968/15,650
Environment53#7,264/15,453
Education7#14,598/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,024/15,650
Community3#15,140/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,568/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Celina, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Clay 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 · low0.25%
98/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · low348 /100k
95/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationClay County value
Job growth · high3.1%
94/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataClay County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Tennessee 7.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClay County value
Rent as share of income · low21.1%
91/100Tennessee 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Grocery stores · high2.6 /10k
90/100Tennessee 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClay County value

Weaknesses

Social associations · low0.0 /10k
0/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Depression · high33.6%
1/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Access to exercise opportunities · low11.5%
1/100Tennessee 67.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Unemployment rate · high22.2%
1/100Tennessee 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Average weekly wage · low$807
1/100Tennessee $1,354United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClay County value
Frequent mental distress · high23.9%
1/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,848 (2015-2019) → 1,941 (2020-2024)
+5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.8% (2015-2019) → 24.4% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
43.3% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
55.6% (2015-2019) → 77.5% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.6% (2015-2019) → 22.2% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.8× (2015-2019) → 6.3× (2020-2024)
+66%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Celina, Tennessee improved on 4 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved4

Child poverty−22 points43.3% → 21.3%
Broadband+22 points55.6% → 77.5%
Rent / income−9.5 points30.6% → 21.1%
Property tax−0.4 points0.65% → 0.25%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Celina, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.4%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Broadband subscriptions	55.6%2015-2019	77.5%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	43.3%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	−22 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.65%2015-2019	0.25%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	85%
High school diploma or higher	75.0%2015-2019	75.0%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	6.3×2020-2024	+2.5×	Within the margin of error	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5052015-2019	0.4722020-2024	−0.033	Within the margin of error	76%
Median household income	$30,7142015-2019	$32,2202020-2024	+4.9%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	37.1%2015-2019	28.0%2020-2024	−9.1 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.6%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Improved	93%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.2%2015-2019	7.6%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	89%

“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 Celina, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Celina, 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, Celina, Tennessee itself moved +6.8 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,941 residents (±374)

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

875 households (±178)

Celina, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k37%†324
$25k–50k26%†226
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

875 households (±178)

Celina, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own35%309
Rent65%566

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−19.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

469 workers (±203)

Celina, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone93%†434
Carpool0.6%†3
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 Clay County, the county holding most of Celina's residents.

Clay County has 108 employer establishments, 141 for every 10,000 residents (0.57× the US rate of 248; 0.67× Tennessee's), with 966 paid employees at an average annual pay of $34,695. The Census Bureau also counts 673 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 108; 673 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 141; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 966
Average annual pay: $34,695; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	9	11.7	0.64×Too few to compare	95	$18,021	6
Specialty trade contractors	7	9.1	0.59×Too few to compare	28	$43,179	97
Full-service restaurants	6	7.8	1.02×Too few to compare	49	$21,898	3
Gasoline stations	6	7.8	2.41×Too few to compare	30	$18,700	—
Lessors of real estate	5	6.5	0.53×Too few to compare	13	$8,308	27
Truck transportation	5	6.5	1.29×Too few to compare	23	$30,217	27
Building equipment contractors	4	5.2	0.87×Too few to compare	12	$45,417	15
General merchandise stores	4	5.2	2.95×Too few to compare	26	$25,231	4
Grocery and convenience stores	4	5.2	1.76×Too few to compare	41	$16,171	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	4	5.2	1.19×Too few to compare	16	$31,938	11
Ambulatory health care services	3	3.9	0.19×Too few to compare	9	$56,889	16
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	3.9	0.78×Too few to compare	7	$48,571	20

Rank places for an industry Open Clay County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,666 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 $31.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Celina, Tennessee: $16.07 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $31.2K; −60% vs FY2025
Per resident: $16.07; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Department of the Army$23K74%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$8,15126%

Top recipients

GRAHAM SERVICES LLC$20.4K65%
STEWART LITTLE CONSTRUCTION LLC$8,18926%
HARPER LISA H$7352.4%
TOOLEY TINA GALE$6132.0%
COUNTY OF CLAY$5171.7%

Spending by fiscal year

17.5KFY2017
42.1KFY2018
42.1KFY2019
16.1KFY2020
38.2KFY2021
24.1KFY2022
231.4KFY2023
64.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Facilities support services · 5612$20.4K65%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$8,18926%
RV parks and recreational camps · 7212$1,7075.5%
Investigation and security services · 5616$5171.7%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$4121.3%

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 Celina, Tennessee, so they do not add up across cities.

Celina, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Clay County, TN ($1.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Clay 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.

Celina, 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.

Clay County11100% of residents

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/4712100

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends