Scores by category

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

Safety43#528/924
Economy37#586/925
Housing51#453/925
Health15#786/925
Healthcare61#360/923
Environment93#69/917
Education61#362/925
Infrastructure35#599/925
Community31#643/925
Leisure & amenities39#562/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Strengths

Primary care physicians · high129 /100k
98/100Tennessee 69 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Pharmacies · high2.3 /10k
88/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
Mammography screening · high53.5%
84/100Tennessee 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Effective property tax rate · low0.54%
80/100Tennessee 0.52%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Hot days · low8 days
77/100Tennessee 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
Severe housing problems · low11.5%
77/100Tennessee 13.3%United States 16.8%2017-2021University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.2%
1/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Frequent mental distress · high21.2%
4/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
6/100Tennessee 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAggregated from counties
Adult smoking · high19.1%
13/100Tennessee 21.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Injury deaths · high122 /100k
14/100Tennessee 122 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Distance to an Amtrak station · high96 mi
17/100Tennessee 93 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties

Trends

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

Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 60% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+60 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
New business applicationsImproving
6.1 /1k (2020) → 9.7 /1k (2025)
+59%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
24.1% (Dec 2021) → 35.9% (Aug 2026)
+12 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.0% (2015-2019) → 87.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Property crime rateImproving
2,215 /100k (2019) → 1,171 /100k (2025)
−47%6 yearsUS 2,082 /100k → 1,535 /100k
Drug overdose deathsImproving
44.4 /100k (2021) → 24.7 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−44%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, Johnson City, TN metro area improved on 17 of 31 measures with a comparison and declined on 6. 4 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.

Improved17

Gyms+41%0.8 /10k → 1.2 /10k
High school++3.5 points86.9% → 90.4%
Suicides−22%26.9 /100k → 20.9 /100k
Inequality−0.0150.484 → 0.469
Firearm deaths−25%22.2 /100k → 16.7 /100k

Declined6

Grocery stores−14%1.3 /10k → 1.2 /10k
Pharmacies−21%2.9 /10k → 2.3 /10k
Libraries−5.1%0.2 /10k → 0.2 /10k
Commute+1.1 min21.5 min → 22.7 min
Traffic deaths+10%11.2 /100k → 12.3 /100k

All 31 measures

Change of every measure of Johnson City, TN metro area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	3.1 /10k2020	3.7 /10k2025	+21%	Improved	76%
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	22.7 min2020-2024	+1.1 min	Declined	27%
Average weekly wage	$8692020	$1,1012025	+27%	Improved	78%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.0%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Improved	62%
Broadband subscriptions	76.0%2015-2019	87.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	72%
Child poverty rate	23.0%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−4 points	Improved	68%
Distance to an airport	61 mi2020	61 mi2025	+0 mi	Little change	14%
Drug overdose deaths	29.7 /100k2020	24.7 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−17%	Improved	41%
Effective property tax rate	0.65%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	45%
Firearm deaths	22.2 /100k2020	16.7 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−25%	Improved	87%
Grocery stores	1.3 /10k2020	1.2 /10k2025	−14%	Declined	17%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.8 /10k2020	1.2 /10k2025	+41%	Improved	85%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Improved	87%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	49%
Homicide rate	5.1 /100k2020	3.2 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−37%	Improved	65%
Income adjusted for local prices	$46,3912019	$63,0992024	+36%	Improved	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4842015-2019	0.4692020-2024	−0.015	Improved	84%
Median household income	$44,4392015-2019	$57,7622020-2024	+30%	Improved	65%
New business applications	6.1 /1k2020	9.7 /1k2025	+59%	Improved	70%
Pharmacies	2.9 /10k2020	2.3 /10k2025	−21%	Declined	17%
Poverty rate	17.5%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Improved	66%
Public libraries	0.2 /10k2019	0.2 /10k2024	−5.1%	Declined	24%
Public transit commuters	0.4%2015-2019	0.3%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent as share of income	28.5%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Rent-burdened households	46.7%2015-2019	46.2%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Restaurants and bars	7.6 /10k2020	7.2 /10k2025	−4.7%	Little change	27%
Suicide rate	26.9 /100k2020	20.9 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−22%	Improved	88%
Traffic deaths	11.2 /100k2015-2019	12.3 /100k2020-2024	+10%	Declined	44%
Unemployment rate	6.3%2020	3.6%2025	−2.7 points	Improved	40%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.1%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Violent crime rate	310 /100k2020	295 /100k2025	−4.6%	Little change	32%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 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 Johnson City, TN metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Johnson City, 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, Johnson City, TN metro area itself moved +3.6 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

210,729 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

88,979 households (±811)

Johnson City, TN metro area
United States share

Under $25k22%19,192
$25k–50k22%19,826
$50k–75k18%15,668

Homes

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

Owners and renters

88,979 households (±811)

Johnson City, TN metro area
United States share

Own68%60,684
Rent32%28,295

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

94,274 workers (±1,715)

Johnson City, TN metro area
United States share

Drive alone79%74,535
Carpool7.5%7,085
Public transit0.3%†316

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 Johnson City, TN employ 19,190 people. 10 pay a median below the US median.

Above the US median
Below the US median

The largest occupations in Johnson City, 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
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,900 jobs	2,900	$26,270US $31,200	−16%	1.43×
Registered Nurses2,740 jobs	2,740	$77,660US $97,550	−20%	1.54×
Retail Salespersons2,330 jobs	2,330	$29,820US $35,410	−16%	1.14×
Customer Service Representatives1,940 jobs	1,940	$36,570US $44,770	−18%	1.42×
Cashiers1,920 jobs	1,920	$27,160US $32,880	−17%	1.18×
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants1,580 jobs	1,580	$36,570US $45,930	−20%	3.12×
Office Clerks, General1,510 jobs	1,510	$36,420US $45,010	−19%	1.17×
Waiters and Waitresses1,460 jobs	1,460	$22,070US $35,230	−37%	1.22×
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers1,420 jobs	1,420	$59,420US $69,500	−15%	1.89×
Nursing Assistants1,390 jobs	1,390	$37,310US $42,260	−12%	1.83×

Look up any occupation

Search more than 800 occupations and see what they pay in Johnson City, 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.

Johnson City, TN has 4,070 employer establishments, 191 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248), with 69,452 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,987. The Census Bureau also counts 15,481 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,070; 15,481 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 191; US 248
Paid employees: 69,452
Average annual pay: $50,987; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	395	18.5	0.89×About typical	5,157	$75,533	816
Restaurants and other eating places	368	17.3	0.94×About typical	8,436	$20,071	57
Religious organizations	223	10.5	1.88×More than typical	1,282	$22,190	—
Specialty trade contractors	220	10.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	1,490	$48,664	1,425
Limited-service restaurants	178	8.3	1.04×About typical	4,440	$17,921	27
Full-service restaurants	156	7.3	0.95×About typical	3,646	$22,549	18
Offices of physicians	153	7.2	1.11×About typical	2,146	$106,023	230
Lessors of real estate	143	6.7	0.54×Fewer than typical	623	$41,803	1,370
Construction of buildings	122	5.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	612	$54,083	745
Services to buildings and dwellings	117	5.5	0.81×About typical	820	$32,105	1,240
Building equipment contractors	99	4.6	0.77×Fewer than typical	760	$47,367	289
Offices of other health practitioners	95	4.5	0.73×Fewer than typical	702	$48,980	371

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 213,324 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

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $571.3M on contracts performed in Johnson City, TN metro area: $2,640 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $571.3M; +120% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,640; US $1,994
Sole-source: 59%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.5%; 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$410.5M72%
Department of Veterans Affairs$123M22%
Department of the Army$38M6.7%
Federal Highway Administration$3.6M0.6%
Forest Service$1.1M0.2%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$286.4K0.1%
Consumer Product Safety Commission$184.6K0.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$85.9K0.0%

Top recipients

BWXT ENRICHMENT OPERATIONS, LLC$199.7M35%
NUCLEAR FUEL SERVICES INC$126.3M22%
BWXT ORDNANCE TENNESSEE, INC.$91.9M16%
DAWES CONSTRUCTION, LLC$67.8M12%
DRC EMERGENCY SERVICES, LLC$33.8M5.9%

Spending by fiscal year

51.6MFY2017
71.9MFY2018
42.6MFY2019
59.4MFY2020
100.1MFY2021
100.4MFY2022
157.8MFY2023
119.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Basic chemical manufacturing · 3251$210.8M37%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$203.1M36%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$65.8M12%
Waste collection · 5621$33.9M5.9%
Utility system construction · 2371$11.2M2.0%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$7.4M

Largest awards

ENRICHED URANIUM CONVERSION AND PURIFICATION SERVICES$288.1M
NUCLEAR FUEL SERVICES INC· Unicoi County, TN· Facilities & utilities· Apr 10, 2023 – Aug 11, 2026· 89233123CNA000308
DOMESTIC URANIUM ENRICHMENT PILOT PLANT TASK ORDER 1$266.7M
BWXT ENRICHMENT OPERATIONS, LLC· Unicoi County, TN· Professional services· Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 28, 2026· 89233125FNA400743
HIGH PURITY DEPLETED URANIUM (HPDU) PRODUCTION SERVICES$131.3M
BWXT ORDNANCE TENNESSEE, INC.· Washington County, TN· Facilities & utilities· Sep 30, 2025 – Aug 25, 2026· 89233125CNA000429
THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE ALL LABOR, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, QUALIFIED SUPERVISION, AND OTHER ITEMS TO COMPLETE PROJECT EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES CONSTRUCTION AT JAMES H. QUILLEN VAMC.

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.

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.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $1.6B in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Johnson City, TN metro area: $7,307 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $1.6B; −10% vs FY2025
Per resident: $7,307; US $12,955
Loan face value: $84.5M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.2%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$926.8M59%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$212.4M13%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$163.3M10%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$85.1M5.4%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$40.4M2.6%
84.063 · Federal Pell Grant Program$29.1M1.8%
57.001 · Social Insurance for Railroad Workers$19.6M1.2%
64.110 · Veterans Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for Service-Connected Death$15.7M1.0%

Top recipients (organizations)

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY$43M2.7%
JOHNSON CITY, TN
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$32.8M2.1%
NASHVILLE, TN
JOHNSON CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY$8.6M0.5%
JOHNSON CITY, TN
ELIZABETHTON HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, INC.$3.6M0.2%
ELIZABETHTON, TN
TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY ELIZABETHTON

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$1.2B77%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$240.2M15%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Education$37.8M2.4%
Federal Highway Administration$32.8M2.1%
Department of Transportation
Railroad Retirement Board$19.6M

Assistance by fiscal year

1.5BFY2021
1.4BFY2022
1.5BFY2023
1.5BFY2024
1.8BFY2025
1.6BFY2026

County aggregates

93%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Johnson City, 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.

Johnson CityPrincipal city72,222

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
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/M27740

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved17

Declined6

Metro and micro areas like Johnson City, 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

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Johnson City, 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

Improved17

Declined6

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

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

By type

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

What was bought