City · DeKalb County, Tennessee

Smithville, Tennessee

Smithville is a city in DeKalb County, Tennessee. It has 5,288 residents. Smithville, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,704 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #243 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), property crime rate (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), depression (high) and frequent mental distress (high).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,704 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #243 of 305 in TN
Population: 5,288 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 897.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4769320

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety25#11,777/15,637
Economy7#14,486/15,631
Housing49#7,599/14,977
Health1#15,510/15,609
Healthcare17#12,971/15,650
Environment90#1,539/15,453
Education10#14,126/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,325/15,650
Community10#14,045/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,365/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Effective property tax rate · low0.36%
95/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · low345 /100k
95/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDeKalb County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low108 min
93/100Tennessee 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeKalb County value
Child care cost burden · low21.6%
90/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
New homes permitted · high10.4 /1k
89/100Tennessee 5.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Average commute time · low15.1 min
89/100Tennessee 25.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high61.2 /100k
1/100Tennessee 27.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDeKalb County value
Depression · high32.3%
2/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.6%
2/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$33,192
2/100Tennessee $72,007United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult smoking · high24.9%
2/100Tennessee 21.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Broadband subscriptions · low71.3%
3/100Tennessee 89.2%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,711 (2015-2019) → 5,288 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.9% (2015-2019) → 68.7% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.8× (2015-2019) → 5.9× (2020-2024)
+53%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeImproving
25.4 min (2015-2019) → 15.1 min (2020-2024)
−40%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Unemployment rateImproving
13.9% (2015-2019) → 7.4% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.3% (2015-2019) → 33.7% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Smithville, Tennessee improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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

Commute−10.2 min25.4 min → 15.1 min

Declined1

Rent burden+28 points40.9% → 68.7%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Smithville, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.4 min2015-2019	15.1 min2020-2024	−10.2 min	Improved	98%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.7%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	67.8%2015-2019	71.4%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Child poverty rate	48.0%2015-2019	48.7%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	0.51%2015-2019	0.36%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	68.3%2015-2019	72.1%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	5.9×2020-2024	+2.0×	Within the margin of error	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5042015-2019	0.4392020-2024	−0.065	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$32,8132015-2019	$33,1922020-2024	+1.2%	Within the margin of error	8%
Poverty rate	32.7%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent-burdened households	40.9%2015-2019	68.7%2020-2024	+28 points	Declined	4%
Unemployment rate	13.9%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.0%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“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 Smithville, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Smithville, 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, Smithville, Tennessee itself moved −4.7 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

5,288 residents (±16)

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

2,185 households (±190)

Smithville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k37%†816
$25k–50k33%†712
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,185 households (±190)

Smithville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own55%1,196
Rent45%989

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+17.0 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,804 workers (±339)

Smithville, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone75%1,347
Carpool21%†383
Public transit0.7%†

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 DeKalb County, the county holding most of Smithville's residents.

DeKalb County has 339 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Tennessee's), with 4,323 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,806. The Census Bureau also counts 1,778 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 339; 1,778 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 4,323
Average annual pay: $44,806; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	27	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	164	$47,701	51
Restaurants and other eating places	22	10.3	0.56×Fewer than typical	346	$16,026	19
Specialty trade contractors	22	10.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	93	$45,957	235
Religious organizations	18	8.5	1.52×More than typical	95	$18,832	—
Lessors of real estate	14	6.6	0.53×Fewer than typical	17	$42,000	111
Offices of physicians	14	6.6	1.01×About typical	66	$58,652	12
Full-service restaurants	12	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	91	$19,198	10
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	5.6	0.84×About typical	29	$30,241	208
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	9	4.2	1.59×Too few to compare	45	$53,467	4
Building equipment contractors	9	4.2	0.70×Too few to compare	44	$54,250	48
Gasoline stations	9	4.2	1.30×Too few to compare	54	$20,852	—
Limited-service restaurants	9	4.2	0.53×Too few to compare	254	$14,894	5

Rank places for an industry Open DeKalb County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 21,301 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 $199.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Smithville, Tennessee: $37.65 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $199.1K; −62% vs FY2025
Per resident: $37.65; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$159.1K80%
Department of the Army$40K20%

Top recipients

620 PELHAM INC$159.1K80%
GRAHAM SERVICES LLC$40K20%

Spending by fiscal year

157.5KFY2017
101.5KFY2018
183.5KFY2019
76.3KFY2020
150.7KFY2021
90.3KFY2022
126.3KFY2023
153.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Cut and sew apparel manufacturing · 3152$102K51%
Apparel knitting mills · 3151$57.1K29%
Facilities support services · 5612$40K20%

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

Smithville, Tennessee's figures are part of those of DeKalb County, TN ($6.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in DeKalb 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.

Smithville, 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.

DeKalb County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in DeKalb 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/4769320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends