Scores by category

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

Safety11#13,934/15,637
Economy10#13,990/15,631
Housing63#5,589/14,977
Health0#15,543/15,609
Healthcare3#15,240/15,650
Environment61#6,084/15,453
Education15#13,297/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,450/15,650
Community13#13,667/15,651
Leisure & amenities0#15,597/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high3.3%
95/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMeigs County value
Child care cost burden · low22.3%
87/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
Public libraries · high1.4 /10k
85/100Tennessee 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMeigs County value
Mammography screening · high51.0%
76/100Tennessee 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Tennessee 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMeigs County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low4.2%
0/100Tennessee 67.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
Mental health providers · low14 /100k
0/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
Unemployment rate · high23.1%
1/100Tennessee 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Dentists · low7 /100k
1/100Tennessee 57 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeigs County value
Depression · high33.3%
1/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.8%
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
1,501 (2015-2019) → 1,898 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.7% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
59.3% (2015-2019) → 39.4% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 5.2× (2020-2024)
+81%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateWorsening
7.7% (2015-2019) → 23.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
35.2% (2015-2019) → 48.7% (2020-2024)
+14 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, Decatur, Tennessee improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Rent burden−20 points59.3% → 39.4%

Declined2

Unemployment+15 points7.7% → 23.1%
Price / income+2.3×2.9× → 5.2×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Decatur, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.4 min2015-2019	25.2 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.6%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	65.7%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+23 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Child poverty rate	35.2%2015-2019	48.7%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	78.2%2015-2019	81.6%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	5.2×2020-2024	+2.3×	Declined	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4492015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.029	Within the margin of error	28%
Median household income	$43,9712015-2019	$42,5782020-2024	−3.2%	Within the margin of error	5%
Poverty rate	24.5%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Rent as share of income	35.5%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Rent-burdened households	59.3%2015-2019	39.4%2020-2024	−20 points	Improved	94%
Unemployment rate	7.7%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Declined	0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.5%2015-2019	16.1%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Decatur, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Decatur, 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, Decatur, Tennessee itself moved +8.5 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

1,898 residents (±466)

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: 20–29 women (+6.4 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,898 residents (±466)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

White91%1,733
Black2.8%†53
Hispanic or Latino0.9%†18

Education

1,283 residents (±307)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

No high school diploma18%†236
High school or GED44%564
Some college22%†281

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

719 households (±159)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k31%†225
$25k–50k22%†157
$50k–75k20%†145
$75k–100k9.0%†65
$100k–150k10%†74
$150k–200k4.3%†31
$200k or more3.1%†22

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 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

719 households (±159)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own58%415
Rent42%†304

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

274 households (±95)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $75031%†86
$750–1,00042%†116
$1,000–1,50024%†67

Home values

415 homes (±120)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $150k17%†72
$150k–250k45%†185
$250k–400k30%†123

Age of homes

778 homes (±164)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

2010 or later6.2%†48
2000–20099.6%†75
1980–199931%†241

Size of homes

778 homes (±164)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom6.9%†54
2 bedrooms29%†223

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

577 workers (±156)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone82%472
Carpool6.1%†35
Public transit0.3%†2
Walk5.9%†34
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.3%†19
Other2.6%†15

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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

558 workers (±153)

Decatur, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under 15 min34%†188
15–29 min40%†223
30–44 min11%†59

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 Athens, 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 Meigs County, the county holding most of Decatur's residents.

Meigs County has 109 employer establishments, 79.6 for every 10,000 residents (0.32× the US rate of 248; 0.38× Tennessee's), with 1,839 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,421. The Census Bureau also counts 970 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 109; 970 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 79.6; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 1,839
Average annual pay: $44,421; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	13	9.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	147	$17,422	8
Religious organizations	11	8	1.45×More than typical	39	$14,615	—
Full-service restaurants	8	5.8	0.76×Too few to compare	42	$18,786	5
Gasoline stations	7	5.1	1.58×Too few to compare	32	$20,719	—
Specialty trade contractors	7	5.1	0.33×Too few to compare	16	$43,813	123
General merchandise stores	5	3.7	2.07×Too few to compare	37	$22,135	8
Banks and credit unions	4	2.9	0.90×Too few to compare	15	$39,867	—
Building equipment contractors	4	2.9	0.49×Too few to compare	6	$44,667	21
Construction of buildings	4	2.9	0.39×Too few to compare	4	$58,250	62
Limited-service restaurants	4	2.9	0.36×Too few to compare	81	$18,963	—
RV parks and recreational camps	4	2.9	12.3×Too few to compare	7	$53,000	4
Ambulatory health care services	3	2.2	0.11×Too few to compare	36	$48,972	31

Rank places for an industry Open Meigs County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 13,695 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Decatur, Tennessee: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Spending by fiscal year

1.8KFY2018
6.5KFY2019
0FY2020
11.9KFY2021
8.3KFY2022
12.9KFY2023
2.5KFY2024

What was bought

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

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

See federal money in Meigs 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.

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

House

Scott DesJarlaisR-TN-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.4%

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.

Meigs County7100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Athens, TN16

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/4719880