Tennessee County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 95 counties in Tennessee, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 58.4. 17counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Tennessee Snapshot
95 Counties Scored
58.4 Mean Score
57.9 Median Score
81.3 Shelby County Most Distressed
21.4 Williamson County Least Distressed
1 Crisis 16 Serious 64 Elevated 12 Normal 2 Healthy
Zone Distribution Tennessee County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 95 Tennessee counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Tennessee's 95 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Tennessee Counties
95 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 | Shelby County | 81.3 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 75 | Haywood County | 79.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 76 | Lauderdale County | 79.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 4 | 102 | Sequatchie County | 78.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 5 | 109 | Hardeman County | 77.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 6 | 145 | Madison County | 76.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 7 | 182 | Cocke County | 75.1 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 282 | Hancock County | 72.7 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 9 | 326 | Lake County | 71.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 10 | 417 | Hamblen County | 69.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 11 | 459 | Campbell County | 68.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 12 | 461 | Montgomery County | 68.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 13 | 481 | Dyer County | 68.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 525 | Carroll County | 67.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 15 | 585 | Bradley County | 66.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 16 | 595 | Carter County | 66.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 17 | 600 | Scott County | 65.9 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 18 | 648 | Monroe County | 64.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 673 | Claiborne County | 64.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 20 | 683 | Macon County | 64.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 21 | 689 | Gibson County | 64.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 22 | 713 | Davidson County | 63.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 23 | 718 | Crockett County | 63.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 24 | 729 | Marion County | 63.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 25 | 765 | Bedford County | 63.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 771 | Grundy County | 63.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 27 | 809 | DeKalb County | 62.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 28 | 816 | Unicoi County | 62.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 29 | 819 | Tipton County | 62.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 30 | 822 | Hardin County | 62.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 31 | 849 | Polk County | 61.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 852 | McMinn County | 61.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 33 | 887 | Jackson County | 61.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 34 | 916 | Putnam County | 60.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 35 | 920 | Hamilton County | 60.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 36 | 943 | Meigs County | 60.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 37 | 952 | Weakley County | 60.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 958 | Rutherford County | 59.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 39 | 960 | Anderson County | 59.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 965 | Coffee County | 59.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 41 | 987 | McNairy County | 59.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 42 | 1,005 | Rhea County | 59.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 43 | 1,007 | Henry County | 59.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 1,008 | Bledsoe County | 59.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 45 | 1,021 | Jefferson County | 59.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 1,027 | Wayne County | 58.9 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 47 | 1,072 | Sullivan County | 58.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 48 | 1,079 | Hawkins County | 57.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 49 | 1,081 | Warren County | 57.9 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 50 | 1,086 | Chester County | 57.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 51 | 1,088 | Washington County | 57.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 52 | 1,098 | Henderson County | 57.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 53 | 1,114 | Morgan County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 54 | 1,143 | Robertson County | 57.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 55 | 1,145 | Union County | 57.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 56 | 1,149 | Obion County | 56.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 57 | 1,152 | Lawrence County | 56.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 58 | 1,157 | Johnson County | 56.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 59 | 1,164 | Maury County | 56.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 1,165 | White County | 56.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 61 | 1,184 | Lewis County | 56.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 62 | 1,214 | Greene County | 55.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 63 | 1,216 | Fentress County | 55.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 64 | 1,236 | Knox County | 55.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 65 | 1,263 | Benton County | 55.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 66 | 1,267 | Sevier County | 55.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 67 | 1,283 | Perry County | 54.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 68 | 1,285 | Clay County | 54.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 69 | 1,306 | Grainger County | 54.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 70 | 1,378 | Giles County | 53.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 71 | 1,383 | Lincoln County | 53.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 72 | 1,421 | Cannon County | 52.7 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 73 | 1,429 | Overton County | 52.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 74 | 1,465 | Van Buren County | 51.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 75 | 1,474 | Humphreys County | 51.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 76 | 1,505 | Hickman County | 51.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 77 | 1,516 | Fayette County | 51.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 78 | 1,523 | Roane County | 51.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 79 | 1,531 | Trousdale County | 50.9 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 80 | 1,540 | Houston County | 50.6 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 81 | 1,574 | Sumner County | 50.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 82 | 1,585 | Franklin County | 49.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 83 | 1,611 | Blount County | 49.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 84 | 1,618 | Marshall County | 49.3 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 85 | 1,627 | Cumberland County | 49.2 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 86 | 1,632 | Decatur County | 49.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 87 | 1,820 | Pickett County | 46.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 88 | 1,855 | Dickson County | 45.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 89 | 1,884 | Smith County | 45.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 90 | 1,898 | Cheatham County | 45.0 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 91 | 2,009 | Loudon County | 43.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 92 | 2,018 | Wilson County | 42.9 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 93 | 2,330 | Moore County | 37.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 94 | 2,548 | Stewart County | 33.7 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 95 | 3,043 | Williamson County | 21.4 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties