Town · Gibson County, Tennessee

Kenton, Tennessee

Kenton is a town in Gibson County, Tennessee, part of the Jackson, TN metro area. It has 1,513 residents. Kenton, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,040 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #265 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), child care cost burden (low) and drinking water violations (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and frequent mental distress (high).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,040 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #265 of 305 in TN
Population: 1,513 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 600.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 4739140

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety22#12,137/15,637
Economy17#12,996/15,631
Housing64#5,354/14,977
Health3#15,110/15,609
Healthcare12#13,764/15,650
Environment39#9,486/15,453
Education16#13,129/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,301/15,650
Community25#11,769/15,651
Leisure & amenities29#11,100/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high17.4 /10k
96/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Child care cost burden · low21.8%
89/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Grocery stores · high2.1 /10k
78/100Tennessee 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGibson County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.377
76/100Tennessee 0.476United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Tennessee 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGibson County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.0%
2/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · low5.9%
2/100Tennessee 31.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Frequent mental distress · high23.2%
2/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · low37 /100k
3/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Adult smoking · high23.1%
4/100Tennessee 21.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Life expectancy · low70.9 yrs
5/100Tennessee 73.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,188 (2015-2019) → 1,513 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.1% (2015-2019) → 88.5% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.3% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.8% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
16.9% (2015-2019) → 24.3% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+30%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, Kenton, Tennessee improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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+19 points69.1% → 88.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Kenton, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.3 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.7%2015-2019	5.9%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	69.1%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Effective property tax rate	1.02%2015-2019	0.71%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	76%
High school diploma or higher	85.3%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4692015-2019	0.3772020-2024	−0.092	Within the margin of error	94%
Median household income	$40,3852015-2019	$41,5252020-2024	+2.8%	Within the margin of error	10%
Poverty rate	16.9%2015-2019	24.3%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	25.9%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent-burdened households	40.8%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.5%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	29%

“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 Kenton, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kenton, 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, Kenton, Tennessee itself moved +1.1 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

1,513 residents (±370)

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

583 households (±118)

Kenton, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k30%†172
$25k–50k30%†174
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

583 households (±118)

Kenton, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own57%333
Rent43%†250

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

495 workers (±136)

Kenton, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone89%†443
Carpool3.0%†15
Public transit

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 Gibson County, the county holding most of Kenton's residents.

Gibson County has 951 employer establishments, 186 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Tennessee's), with 12,656 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,189. The Census Bureau also counts 3,520 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 951; 3,520 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 186; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 12,656
Average annual pay: $44,189; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	79	15.4	2.78×More than typical	338	$19,056	—
Restaurants and other eating places	66	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,143	$17,144	19
Specialty trade contractors	63	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	580	$55,664	330
Ambulatory health care services	58	11.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	591	$47,147	133
Building equipment contractors	34	6.6	1.10×About typical	272	$53,301	74
Construction of buildings	31	6	0.80×About typical	265	$51,962	151
Gasoline stations	30	5.9	1.81×More than typical	102	$27,412	—
Limited-service restaurants	29	5.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	841	$16,864	5
Full-service restaurants	27	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	273	$18,784	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	27	5.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	87	$27,540	339
Automotive repair and maintenance	22	4.3	0.85×About typical	77	$45,065	66
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	21	4.1	2.35×More than typical	138	$33,841	7

Rank places for an industry Open Gibson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 51,245 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: Kenton is mostly in Gibson County.

See federal money in Gibson 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.

Kenton, 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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jackson, TN29

Other cities and towns in Gibson 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/4739140

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends