Scores by category

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

Safety28#11,181/15,637
Economy58#6,620/15,631
Housing87#1,922/14,977
Health10#14,079/15,609
Healthcare51#7,689/15,650
Environment71#4,547/15,453
Education57#6,697/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,000/15,650
Community37#9,912/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,823/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mammography screening · high57.0%
96/100Tennessee 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value
Flu vaccinations · high55.0%
93/100Tennessee 44.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value
Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
91/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAnderson County value
Social associations · high14.7 /10k
90/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,596
89/100Tennessee $1,354United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAnderson County value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAnderson County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high74.8 /100k
1/100Tennessee 27.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAnderson County value
Injury deaths · high160 /100k
2/100Tennessee 122 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value
Depression · high30.4%
3/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · high114 mi
8/100Tennessee 93 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAnderson County value
Premature death · high13,168 /100k
8/100Tennessee 11,427 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value
Life expectancy · low72.4 yrs
9/100Tennessee 73.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnderson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
29,037 (2015-2019) → 32,693 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.8% (2015-2019) → 94.5% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.8× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
9.7 /1k (2021) → 6.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−31%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$55,230 (2015-2019) → $72,311 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 8.0% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Oak Ridge, Tennessee improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.4 points1.10% → 0.69%
Uninsured−4.8 points12.8% → 8.0%
Inequality−0.0440.480 → 0.435
Broadband+9.7 points84.8% → 94.5%
Household income+31%$55,230 → $72,311

Declined1

Price / income+0.9×2.8× → 3.7×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Oak Ridge, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.2 min2015-2019	21.7 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	54%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.1%2015-2019	40.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	84.8%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Improved	58%
Child poverty rate	20.0%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Effective property tax rate	1.10%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	92.0%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	26%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4802015-2019	0.4352020-2024	−0.044	Improved	82%
Median household income	$55,2302015-2019	$72,3112020-2024	+31%	Improved	57%
Poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	12.2%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	44.0%2015-2019	41.4%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Unemployment rate	5.4%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.8%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Improved	86%

“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 Oak Ridge, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oak Ridge, 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, Oak Ridge, Tennessee itself moved +5.8 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

32,693 residents (±29)

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

14,015 households (±399)

Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k12%1,684
$25k–50k22%3,092
$50k–75k17%2,366

Homes

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

Owners and renters

14,015 households (±399)

Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own66%9,217
Rent34%4,798

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

14,751 workers (±551)

Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone71%10,439
Carpool10%1,511
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 Knoxville, 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 Anderson County, the county holding most of Oak Ridge's residents.

Anderson County has 1,599 employer establishments, 199 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Tennessee's), with 48,104 paid employees at an average annual pay of $80,020. The Census Bureau also counts 5,933 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,599; 5,933 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 199; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 48,104
Average annual pay: $80,020; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	145	18	0.87×About typical	2,004	$72,784	311
Restaurants and other eating places	130	16.2	0.88×About typical	2,752	$20,348	14
Religious organizations	84	10.5	1.88×More than typical	547	$21,060	—
Specialty trade contractors	82	10.2	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,271	$80,224	578
Limited-service restaurants	71	8.8	1.10×About typical	1,623	$17,703	—
Architectural, engineering and related services	56	7	2.00×More than typical	1,450	$127,087	80
Gasoline stations	50	6.2	1.92×More than typical	381	$26,226	—
Offices of physicians	47	5.8	0.90×About typical	798	$100,390	41
Lessors of real estate	43	5.4	0.43×Fewer than typical	113	$57,434	454
Full-service restaurants	42	5.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	951	$25,180	10
Management, scientific and technical consulting	42	5.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	1,854	$97,330	179
Services to buildings and dwellings	40	5	0.74×Fewer than typical	199	$34,518	541

Rank places for an industry Open Anderson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 80,369 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 $7B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: $212,962 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $7B; +12% vs FY2025
Per resident: $212,962; US $1,995
Sole-source: 1.0%; 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 Energy$6.9B99.5%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$15.7M0.2%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$12.6M0.2%
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services$4.8M0.1%
Department of the Navy$3.2M0.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$1.5M0.0%
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office$1.3M0.0%
Nuclear Regulatory Commission$489K0.0%

Top recipients

CONSOLIDATED NUCLEAR SECURITY, LLC$3.3B48%
UT-BATTELLE LLC$2.8B40%
UNITED CLEANUP OAK RIDGE LLC$564.9M8.1%
RSI ENTECH, LLC$88.9M1.3%
ISOTEK SYSTEMS, LLC$57.9M0.8%

Spending by fiscal year

4.4BFY2017
5BFY2018
5.2BFY2019
5.9BFY2020
5.5BFY2021
6.7BFY2022
7.1BFY2023
7.1B

Top industries (NAICS)

Facilities support services · 5612$6.1B87%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$675.5M9.7%
Other support services · 5619$58.4M0.8%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$30.2M0.4%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$25.6M0.4%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY$42.4B
UT-BATTELLE LLC· Anderson County, TN· Facilities & utilities· Oct 20, 2016 – Aug 27, 2026· DEAC0500OR22725
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACT FOR Y-12 NATIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX, PANTEX PLANT, WITH AN OPTION FOR SAVANNAH RIVER TRITIUM OPERATIONS$34.7B
CONSOLIDATED NUCLEAR SECURITY, LLC· Anderson County, TN· Facilities & utilities· Oct 28, 2016 – Oct 2, 2026· DENA0001942
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF Y-12 PLANT AND OTHER PROGRAMS$20.6B
LOCKHEED MARTIN SERVICES, LLC· Anderson County, TN· Facilities & utilities· Dec 21, 2017 – Sep 29, 2026· DEAC0584OR21400

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Oak Ridge, Tennessee, so they do not add up across cities.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Anderson County, TN and Roane County, TN ($7.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 96% of that total.

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

See federal money in Anderson 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.

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

House

Charles J. "Chuck" FleischmannR-TN-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.1%

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.

Knoxville, TN52

Other cities and towns in Anderson 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/4755120

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends