Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety32#627/924
Economy49#474/925
Housing66#319/925
Health12#815/925
Healthcare14#790/923
Environment39#559/917
Education38#573/925
Infrastructure40#555/925
Community52#442/925
Leisure & amenities18#761/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cleveland, TN metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
91/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Pharmacies · high2.2 /10k
86/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
New homes permitted · high6.3 /1k
84/100Tennessee 5.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Distance to an airport · low24 mi
84/100Tennessee 31 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
Social associations · high13.7 /10k
78/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
High ozone days · low0 days
71/100Tennessee 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.9%
5/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Frequent mental distress · high20.9%
7/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Restaurants and bars · low5.5 /10k
10/100Tennessee 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
Public transit commuters · low0.1%
11/100Tennessee 0.4%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Adult obesity · high41.7%
13/100Tennessee 39.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Mammography screening · low39.3%
17/100Tennessee 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties

Trends

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

PopulationRising
126,390 (2020) → 134,057 (2025)
+6.1%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 68% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+68 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
Property crime rateImproving
2,728 /100k (2020) → 989 /100k (2025)
−64%5 yearsUS 1,929 /100k → 1,535 /100k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.7% (2015-2019) → 89.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New business applicationsImproving
6.6 /1k (2020) → 10.2 /1k (2025)
+54%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
Drug overdose deathsImproving
43.3 /100k (2021) → 22.4 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−48%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k

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, Cleveland, TN metro area improved on 12 of 30 measures with a comparison and declined on 9. 5 moved within the margin of error and 4 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved12

Property crime−64%2,728 /100k → 989 /100k
Poverty−3 points15.9% → 12.9%
Child poverty−6.3 points22.2% → 16.0%
Broadband+12 points77.7% → 89.3%
Household income+32%$49,921 → $66,135

Declined9

Firearm deaths+68%12.6 /100k → 21.2 /100k
Grocery stores−26%1.5 /10k → 1.1 /10k
Commute+2.1 min22.3 min → 24.4 min
Arts & recreation−12%3.5 /10k → 3.1 /10k
Homicides+14%4.2 /100k → 4.8 /100k

All 30 measures

Change of every measure of Cleveland, TN metro area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	3.5 /10k2020	3.1 /10k2025	−12%	Declined	12%
Average commute time	22.3 min2015-2019	24.4 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Declined	11%
Average weekly wage	$8642020	$1,0812025	+25%	Improved	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.8%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Improved	43%
Broadband subscriptions	77.7%2015-2019	89.3%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Improved	85%
Distance to an airport	24 mi2020	24 mi2025	−0 mi	Little change	80%
Drug overdose deaths	31.4 /100k2020	22.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−29%	Improved	55%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.44%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	64%
Firearm deaths	12.6 /100k2020	21.2 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+68%	Declined	6%
Grocery stores	1.5 /10k2020	1.1 /10k2025	−26%	Declined	6%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.9 /10k2020	1.0 /10k2025	+11%	Improved	60%
High school diploma or higher	84.9%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	33%
Homicide rate	4.2 /100k2020	4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+14%	Declined	13%
Income adjusted for local prices	$45,1302019	$58,9272024	+31%	Improved	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4532015-2019	0.4492020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$49,9212015-2019	$66,1352020-2024	+32%	Improved	77%
New business applications	6.6 /1k2020	10.2 /1k2025	+54%	Improved	62%
Pharmacies	2.8 /10k2020	2.2 /10k2025	−19%	Declined	22%
Poverty rate	15.9%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	−3 points	Improved	86%
Property crime rate	2,728 /100k2020	989 /100k2025	−64%	Improved	97%
Public libraries	0.4 /10k2019	0.4 /10k2024	−5.7%	Declined	22%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	44.6%2015-2019	45.6%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Restaurants and bars	5.8 /10k2020	5.5 /10k2025	−4.4%	Little change	28%
Suicide rate	18.8 /100k2020	19.6 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+4.6%	Little change	50%
Traffic deaths	13.8 /100k2015-2019	15.5 /100k2020-2024	+12%	Declined	41%
Unemployment rate	6.7%2020	3.8%2025	−2.9 points	Improved	48%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.4%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 675 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 925 metro and micro areas 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.

Metro and micro areas like Cleveland, TN metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cleveland, TN metro area 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, Cleveland, TN metro area itself moved −0.6 points in standing on average over the same 29 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

128,963 residents

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

50,020 households (±562)

Cleveland, TN metro area
United States share

Under $25k18%8,899
$25k–50k20%10,246
$50k–75k18%8,839

Homes

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

Owners and renters

50,020 households (±562)

Cleveland, TN metro area
United States share

Own70%34,856
Rent30%15,164

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+2.9 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

57,960 workers (±1,335)

Cleveland, TN metro area
United States share

Drive alone79%45,875
Carpool10%5,964
Public transit0.0%†27

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The 10 largest occupations in Cleveland, TN employ 11,060 people. 10 pay a median below the US median.

Above the US median
Below the US median

The largest occupations in Cleveland, TN by employment, with median annual pay and how it compares with the United States
Occupation	Jobs	Median pay	vs USCompared with the US	Concentration
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,900 jobs	1,900	$38,460US $40,240	−4%	2.33×
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,830 jobs	1,830	$26,140US $31,200	−16%	1.72×
Retail Salespersons1,230 jobs	1,230	$32,160US $35,410	−9%	1.14×
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,100 jobs	1,100	$44,110US $44,650	−1%	2.83×
Cashiers1,000 jobs	1,000	$27,140US $32,880	−17%	1.17×
Stockers and Order Fillers990 jobs	990	$32,870US $37,330	−12%	1.26×
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers970 jobs	970	$49,250US $58,640	−16%	1.7×
Waiters and Waitresses720 jobs	720	$23,300US $35,230	−34%	1.15×
General and Operations Managers690 jobs	690	$92,800US $105,770	−12%	0.71×
Registered Nurses630 jobs	630	$72,800US $97,550	−25%	0.67×

Look up any occupation

Search more than 800 occupations and see what they pay in Cleveland, TN.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025-05 (all industries and ownerships) bls.gov/oes

Reference period: 2025-05. BLS publishes metro areas, states and the nation (not counties or cities), so a county or city page shows its metro area.
Pay is not adjusted for the cost of living, so a higher median does not mean more purchasing power.
BLS caps the highest wages it publishes: where a figure is shown as “or more”, the real value is at least that much.
Some occupations (teachers, performers) are published by the hour or school year and shown here as an annual figure.

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.

Cleveland, TN has 2,312 employer establishments, 177 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248), with 44,313 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,147. The Census Bureau also counts 10,472 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,312; 10,472 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 177; US 248
Paid employees: 44,313
Average annual pay: $47,147; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	209	16	0.77×Fewer than typical	2,348	$65,930	374
Restaurants and other eating places	195	15	0.82×About typical	4,175	$19,230	52
Religious organizations	153	11.7	2.12×More than typical	1,481	$28,056	—
Specialty trade contractors	127	9.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	926	$60,901	1,009
Limited-service restaurants	101	7.8	0.97×About typical	2,362	$17,594	16
Gasoline stations	79	6.1	1.87×More than typical	510	$28,284	—
Full-service restaurants	69	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	1,440	$23,069	17
Lessors of real estate	68	5.2	0.42×Fewer than typical	230	$39,157	801
Offices of physicians	61	4.7	0.72×Fewer than typical	794	$93,770	76
Building equipment contractors	57	4.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	443	$58,483	219
Construction of buildings	51	3.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	241	$58,494	573
Offices of other health practitioners	50	3.8	0.63×Fewer than typical	235	$40,770	157

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 130,260 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.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
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 contract spending

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Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

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Counties in Cleveland, TN

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

ClevelandPrincipal city48,829

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Tennessee

Areas based in Tennessee, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/M17420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved12

Declined9

Metro and micro areas like Cleveland, TN metro area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Look up any occupation

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Counties in Cleveland, TN

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Tennessee

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved12

Declined9

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Look up any occupation