City · Tipton County, Tennessee

Covington, Tennessee

Covington is a city in Tipton County, Tennessee, part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. It has 8,587 residents. Covington, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,926 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #296 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), job growth (high) and drinking water violations (low). It ranks worst on adult obesity (high), child poverty rate (high) and poverty rate (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,926 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #296 of 305 in TN
Population: 8,587 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 750.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4717680

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
Economy8#14,413/15,631
Housing51#7,343/14,977
Health2#15,270/15,609
Healthcare8#14,459/15,650
Environment22#12,118/15,453
Education39#9,537/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,757/15,650
Community18#12,874/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,159/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Covington, 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
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value
Math scores · high3.21
74/100Tennessee 2.99United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value
Property crime rate · low761 /100k
71/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationTipton County value
Reading scores · high3.17
71/100Tennessee 2.99United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTipton County value

Weaknesses

Adult obesity · high49.5%
1/100Tennessee 39.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · high51.7%
1/100Tennessee 18.4%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high29.3%
3/100Tennessee 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Frequent mental distress · high22.6%
3/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
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

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.1% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
42.8% (2015-2019) → 51.7% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.1% (2015-2019) → 49.2% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
14.3% (2015-2019) → 7.1% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,568 (2015-2019) → $42,254 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.4× (2015-2019) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+28%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, Covington, Tennessee improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved2

Broadband+25 points64.1% → 89.2%
Uninsured−7.2 points14.3% → 7.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Covington, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.9 min2015-2019	23.0 min2020-2024	−6.9 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.3%2015-2019	13.7%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	64.1%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Child poverty rate	42.8%2015-2019	51.7%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	82.5%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	4.4×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5442015-2019	0.4522020-2024	−0.093	Within the margin of error	95%
Median household income	$32,5682015-2019	$42,2542020-2024	+30%	Within the margin of error	55%
Poverty rate	24.7%2015-2019	29.2%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.7%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent-burdened households	58.1%2015-2019	49.2%2020-2024	−8.9 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Unemployment rate	5.0%2015-2019	8.8%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.3%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Improved	92%

“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 Covington, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Covington, 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, Covington, Tennessee itself moved +13 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

8,587 residents (±22)

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

3,685 households (±304)

Covington, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k36%1,314
$25k–50k20%†755
$50k–75k11%†392

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,685 households (±304)

Covington, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own45%1,668
Rent55%2,017

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,245 workers (±390)

Covington, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone71%2,314
Carpool20%†639
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 Covington'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 $1,500 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Covington, Tennessee: $0.17 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,500; −97% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.17; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; 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$2,448100%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

15.2KFY2017
7.3KFY2018
106.7KFY2019
146.2KFY2020
80.7KFY2021
55.9KFY2022
88.7KFY2023
55.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$2,448100%

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

Covington, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Tipton County, TN ($217.6K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Covington 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.

Covington, 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/4717680

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends