Census-designated place · Fentress County, Tennessee

Grimsley, Tennessee

Grimsley is a census-designated place in Fentress County, Tennessee. It has 1,171 residents. Grimsley, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 8 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,373 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #277 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), effective property tax rate (low) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and average weekly wage (low).

8Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,373 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #277 of 305 in TN
Population: 1,171 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 107.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4731420

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.

Safety13#13,677/15,637
Economy29#11,122/15,631
Housing—
Health2#15,321/15,609
Healthcare2#15,399/15,650
Environment97#519/15,453
Education15#13,303/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,215/15,650
Community12#13,716/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,128/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
89/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFentress County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.50%
88/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Hot days · low5 days
85/100Tennessee 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationFentress County value
Natural hazard risk · low8.9
85/100Tennessee 37.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencyFentress County value
Job growth · high1.0%
78/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFentress County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Tennessee 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyFentress County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low5 /100k
0/100Tennessee 57 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFentress County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high54.4%
1/100Tennessee 11.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Average weekly wage · low$822
1/100Tennessee $1,354United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFentress County value
Injury deaths · high158 /100k
2/100Tennessee 122 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFentress County value
Depression · high31.2%
3/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an emergency room · high20.8 mi
3/100Tennessee 6.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFentress County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,013 (2015-2019) → 1,171 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
100.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−100 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.4% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
22.3% (2015-2019) → 54.4% (2020-2024)
+32 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,705 (2015-2019) → $57,212 (2020-2024)
+80%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 11.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Grimsley, Tennessee improved on 2 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 3 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+33 points59.4% → 91.9%
Household income+80%$31,705 → $57,212

Declined1

Uninsured+32 points22.3% → 54.4%

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Grimsley, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	59.4%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+33 points	Improved	98%
High school diploma or higher	77.5%2015-2019	75.7%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4422015-2019	0.3112020-2024	−0.131	Within the margin of error	98%
Median household income	$31,7052015-2019	$57,2122020-2024	+80%	Improved	96%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.3%2015-2019	54.4%2020-2024	+32 points	Declined	0%

“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 Grimsley, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grimsley, 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.

No place that looked like Grimsley, Tennessee five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Grimsley, Tennessee itself moved +32 points in standing on average over the same 4 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

1,171 residents (±395)

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

421 households (±172)

Grimsley, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k17%†73
$25k–50k20%†83
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

421 households (±172)

Grimsley, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own90%†378
Rent10%†43

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

409 workers (±184)

Grimsley, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone83%†339
Carpool2.7%†11
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 Fentress County, the county holding most of Grimsley's residents.

Fentress County has 286 employer establishments, 146 for every 10,000 residents (0.59× the US rate of 248; 0.69× Tennessee's), with 3,045 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,751. The Census Bureau also counts 1,958 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 286; 1,958 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 146; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 3,045
Average annual pay: $36,751; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	22	11.2	0.54×Fewer than typical	448	$47,132	52
Specialty trade contractors	22	11.2	0.72×Fewer than typical	58	$41,448	289
Restaurants and other eating places	18	9.2	0.50×Fewer than typical	296	$14,841	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	14	7.1	1.41×More than typical	37	$42,000	68
Religious organizations	13	6.6	1.19×About typical	62	$21,016	—
Lessors of real estate	12	6.1	0.50×Fewer than typical	24	$29,458	116
Offices of physicians	12	6.1	0.94×About typical	100	$44,520	11
Gasoline stations	11	5.6	1.73×More than typical	62	$22,177	—
Limited-service restaurants	10	5.1	0.63×Fewer than typical	224	$16,121	—
Banks and credit unions	8	4.1	1.26×Too few to compare	95	$37,663	—
Construction of buildings	8	4.1	0.54×Too few to compare	12	$43,583	213
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	7	3.6	2.04×Too few to compare	36	$29,556	18

Rank places for an industry Open Fentress County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,651 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 Grimsley, 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

2.3KFY2017
-16FY2018

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

Grimsley, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Fentress County, TN ($543.3K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Fentress 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.

Grimsley, 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.

Fentress County14100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Fentress 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

JSON · /api/v1/places/4731420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends