Town · Rhea County, Tennessee

Spring City, Tennessee

Spring City is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee. It has 2,358 residents. Spring City, Tennessee has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,163 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Tennessee it ranks #272 of 305 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), property crime rate (low) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on depression (high), frequent mental distress (high) and mental health providers (low).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,163 of 15,651 cities and towns
Tennessee: #272 of 305 in TN
Population: 2,358 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 850.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4770400

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety45#8,562/15,637
Economy7#14,465/15,631
Housing50#7,440/14,977
Health1#15,435/15,609
Healthcare7#14,540/15,650
Environment47#8,223/15,453
Education53#7,382/15,649
Infrastructure4#14,962/15,650
Community11#13,948/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,809/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low21.8%
89/100Tennessee 22.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRhea County value
Property crime rate · low534 /100k
87/100Tennessee 1,637 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationRhea County value
Reading scores · high3.23
80/100Tennessee 2.99United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRhea County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.59%
80/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Tennessee 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRhea County value
Public libraries · high0.9 /10k
72/100Tennessee 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesRhea County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.3%
2/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high22.9%
3/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · low37 /100k
4/100Tennessee 212 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRhea County value
Adult smoking · high22.9%
4/100Tennessee 21.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$38,975
5/100Tennessee $72,007United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Broadband subscriptions · low79.4%
5/100Tennessee 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
2,199 (2015-2019) → 2,358 (2020-2024)
+7.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
52.0% (2015-2019) → 13.0% (2020-2024)
−39 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.7% (2015-2019) → 79.4% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
30.7% (2015-2019) → 18.3% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.0× (2015-2019) → 4.3× (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.9% (2015-2019) → 9.8% (2020-2024)
−6.1 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, Spring City, Tennessee improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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

Broadband+16 points63.7% → 79.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Spring City, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.5 min2015-2019	28.1 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.3%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Broadband subscriptions	63.7%2015-2019	79.4%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.59%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	83.7%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+1.2×	Within the margin of error	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5112015-2019	0.4932020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$30,7292015-2019	$38,9752020-2024	+27%	Within the margin of error	48%
Poverty rate	30.7%2015-2019	18.3%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	28.9%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent-burdened households	46.9%2015-2019	42.9%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.9%2015-2019	9.8%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	90%

“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 Spring City, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Spring City, 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, Spring City, Tennessee itself moved −0.5 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

2,358 residents (±611)

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

951 households (±209)

Spring City, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k32%†300
$25k–50k31%†292
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

951 households (±209)

Spring City, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own71%677
Rent29%†274

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

714 workers (±265)

Spring City, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone81%†578
Carpool13%†94
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 Rhea County, the county holding most of Spring City's residents.

Rhea County has 541 employer establishments, 158 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.75× Tennessee's), with 9,145 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,714. The Census Bureau also counts 2,136 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 541; 2,136 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 158; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 9,145
Average annual pay: $40,714; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	53	15.5	0.84×About typical	825	$18,960	13
Ambulatory health care services	42	12.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	376	$52,691	65
Religious organizations	31	9	1.63×More than typical	215	$17,949	—
Limited-service restaurants	28	8.2	1.02×About typical	517	$17,787	6
Gasoline stations	22	6.4	1.98×More than typical	140	$25,586	—
Specialty trade contractors	22	6.4	0.41×Fewer than typical	99	$57,202	233
Lessors of real estate	18	5.3	0.43×Fewer than typical	46	$40,109	139
Full-service restaurants	17	5	0.65×Fewer than typical	276	$22,395	4
Truck transportation	17	5	0.98×About typical	212	$51,712	45
General merchandise stores	16	4.7	2.64×More than typical	387	$28,842	16
Construction of buildings	15	4.4	0.58×Fewer than typical	53	$42,075	130
Offices of other health practitioners	13	3.8	0.62×Fewer than typical	56	$49,196	24

Rank places for an industry Open Rhea County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 34,264 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: Spring City is mostly in Rhea County.

See federal money in Rhea 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.

Spring City, 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.

Rhea County18100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Rhea 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/4770400

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends