Sullivan County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                413 56th  1.0%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           82,104  59th   0.7%
Number of Farms                 79,280             1,280  16th   1.6%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                 64  94th   46.4%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 153,900 9th  2.5%
2000 Census 5,689,283 153,048 6th  2.7%
1990 Census 4,877,203 143,596 5th  2.9%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 9,452 21st  1.2%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 6.6% 90th  39.5%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8             372.6 9th  247.1%
2000 Census                   138.0             370.6 5th  268.5%
1990 Census                   118.3             347.7 5th  293.8%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968         112,474 6th  3.1%
1990 Census            2,969,948         103,352 5th  3.5%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 8.8% 45th  40.4%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 73.5% 8th  115.5%
1990 Census 60.9% 72.0% 6th  118.2%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 40 9th  111.7%
1990 Census 34 37 16th  110.1%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 21.8% 84th 
18-24 9.6% 7.3% 89th 
25-44 30.2% 28.4% 54th 
45-64 23.2% 26.5% 8th 
65 & over 12.4% 15.9% 16th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 22.6% 86th 
18-24 10.9% 9.7% 48th 
25-44 31.8% 30.2% 34th 
45-64 19.6% 23.3% 4th 
65 & over 12.6% 14.2% 54th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 91.5 15th  96.0%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 6.8 85th  63.6%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 4.8 46th  102.1%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $30,242 15th  94.0%
2000 $26,097 $24,528 17th  94.0%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 3.55% 40th  100.07%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $39,706 33rd  93.7%
2000 $35,760 $34,767 31st  97.2%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.92% 53rd  77.90%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 15.0% 25th  94.94%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 22.4% 30th  99.56%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 12.1% 20th  92.45%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 16.3% 31st  102.21%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 12.8% 15th  80.87%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 12.0% 17th  85.29%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 1.5% 35th  62.91%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 1.5% 40th  61.52%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               11.1 75th  78.2%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 41.8% 66th  97.7%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 9.8% 69th  104.3%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               62.8 72nd  77.8%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               13.7 66th  98.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                0.7 48th  53.8%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3               11.5 69th  123.7%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             266.7 46th  114.4%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             267.3 73rd  124.2%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
74th 
39th 
74th 
Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                3.1 5th  172.8%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                7.6 3rd  182.0%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               12.3 90th  24.9%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 8.4% 13th  98.1%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 7.3% 4th  76.6%
2000 4.0% 3.8% 20th  94.8%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 12.9% 27th  82.4%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 69,352 7 2.5%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.2% 19 48.2%
Construction 4.9% 8.8% 6 180.4%
Manufacturing 13.8% 19.5% 6 140.7%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 18.8% 7 85.0%
Information 1.8% 2.8% 8 156.8%
Financial Activities 5.2% 3.3% 9 63.2%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 7.7% 10 65.0%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 17.4% 5 140.2%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 9.4% 9 93.5%
Other Services 2.6% 2.8% 5 109.3%
Government 14.9% 9.8% 8 65.5%
Federal 1.8% 0.7% 14 37.1%
State 3.3% 0.7% 9 22.8%
Local 9.9% 8.4% 8 84.6%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
6th 
12th 
27th 
1st 
20th 
16th 
15th 
18th 
3rd 
13th 
57th 
39th 
18th 
60th 
15th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Sullivan County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      326,716 89th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         5,094 10th 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 17,144,000 55th 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Sullivan County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $  179,243 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    40,473 22.6%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        33,649 18.8%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         6,824 3.8%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      8,574 4.8%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $  130,197 72.6%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%        58,417 32.6%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%        39,357 22.0%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%        32,423 18.1%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $   3,517,747
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $22,857 7th  107.9%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.53 32nd 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $   1,763,588
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $11,459 2nd  103.2%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 7th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $      439,285 8th 2.6%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355         117,100 11th 3.0%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735           48,778 9th 2.6%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201           33,977 10th 1.9%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869           31,590 11th 1.0%
Recreation            1,118,527           29,160 10th 2.6%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           17,300 28th 1.0%
Business District Development               375,758             8,435 7th 2.2%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             6,200 9th 2.6%
Stormwater               371,227             5,470 13th 1.5%
Fire Protection               220,725             4,094 13th 1.9%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785             2,730 12th 1.0%
Public Buildings               526,288             1,680 37th 0.3%
Solid Waste                 54,314                525 17th 1.0%
Other Facilities                 32,755                305 6th 0.9%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Community Development               367,547                    - 50th 0.0%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                    - 30th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
School System-wide Need                 63,021                    - 16th 0.0%
Telecommunications                 17,009                    - 5th 0.0%
Property Acquisition                   3,956                    - 8th 0.0%
Grand Total  $       34,202,707  $      746,628 11th 2.2%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Sullivan County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 75.8% 16th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 18.1% 14th 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 66.8% 14th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 15.6% 12th 
 Number of Post-secondary Institutions (2008)      
Four-year Colleges and Universities 77 1
Public 14 0
Private 63 1
Other Public Institutions 93 2
Community Colleges 13 1
Technology Centers 27 0
Two-Year Private Institutions 20 0
Off-campus Sites 33 1
2007 - 2008 Enrollment (full-time equivalent) at Post-secondary Institutions    
Four-year Colleges and Universities*          214,260                1,581
Public 134,696 0
Private 79,564 1,581
Other Public Institutions* 134,278 6,065
Community Colleges 80,454 5,472
Technology Centers 13,939 0
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 0
Off-campus Sites 28,836 593
* Note: By location of instiution, not county of residence of students
IX.  Public School Systems  (Total number of school systems is 136)
Statewide Sullivan County Bristol City Kingsport City
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                   11,860             3,914                6,396         
Percent of Statewide 1.3% 0.4% 0.7%      
1997-1998                 834,318                   12,644             3,391                5,904         
Percent of Statewide 1.5% 0.4% 0.7%      
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 -784 523 492      
Percent Change 13.2% -6.2% 15.4% 8.3%      
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 47.6% 46.6% 43.7%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 11.9% 35.0% 31.4%
Special Education 14.7% 17.9% 15.2% 16.6%
English Language Learners 3.2% 0.2% 1.0% 0.9%
Statewide Sullivan County Bristol City Kingsport City
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      12.5               14.4                  14.6         
1997-1998                      15.8                      15.0               14.2                  15.3         
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (2.5)                 0.2                   (0.7)            
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 97.8% 98.4% 97.8%      
1997-1998 96.6% 96.5% 97.7% 98.5%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 8.3% 5.5% 6.2%
1997-1998 4.5% 2.2% 3.5% 2.0%
*Classroom teachers include art, music and physical education teachers.  Because these auxiliary teachers are
included, ratios of students to classroom teachers do not represent and tend to be lower than actual class sizes.
Statewide Sullivan County Bristol City Kingsport City
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $7,675 $8,544 $8,830
Percent of Statewide 99.1% 110.4% 114.1%      
1997-1998 $5,123 $6,051 $6,317 $6,235
Percent of Statewide 118.1% 123.3% 121.7%      
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $1,624 $2,227 $2,596      
Percent Change 51.1% 26.8% 35.3% 41.6%      
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $41,851 $48,313 $50,668
Percent of Statewide 93.4% 107.8% 113.0%
1997-1998 $34,584 $35,369 $37,442 $40,660
Percent of Statewide 102.3% 108.3% 117.6%
Gain $10,236 $6,482 $10,870 $10,008
Percent Change 29.6% 18.3% 29.0% 24.6%      
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 46.2% 36.6% 34.7%
Federal 10.8% 8.6% 13.5% 7.4%
Local 41.6% 45.2% 49.9% 57.9%
System Rank for Percent Local 16th  12th  4th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 43.6% 34.7% 32.1%
Federal 11.0% 8.7% 14.5% 8.5%
Local 43.5% 47.7% 50.9% 59.5%
System Rank for Percent Local 16th  12th  4th 
Statewide Sullivan County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $2,971 9th 
Sources of Information for County Profiles
I. Geography & Demographics
U.S. Bureau of the Census--all data except for marriage and divorce rates.
www.census.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
TN Dept. of Health - marriage and divorce rates.
http://health.state.tn.us/
II. Income & Poverty
U.S. Bureau of the Census--median household income data & poverty rates.
www.census.gov
TN Dept. of Human Services--Food Stamp data and Families First data.
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.htm
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_tanf.htm
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - per capita income data
www.bea.gov
III. Health & Healthcare
TN Dept.of Health, Health Statistics & Research--pregnancy, births, mortality & healthcare access data.
http://health.state.tn.us/statistics/healthdata.htm
IV. Employment
TN Dept. Of Labor and Workforce Development - unemployment data. 
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/
U.S. Department of Labor - employment data.
ww.bls.gov/lau/home.htm
V. Value of Farmland and Agricultural Product Sold
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
VI. County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
TN County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), Resource Center--county revenue data.
www.ctas.utk.edu
TN Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessment--equalized assessed property values.
http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/taxaggr.htm
TN Dept. of Revenue--total taxable sales.
www.state.tn.us/revenue/files.htm
VII. Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--all data. 
http://tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure.html
VIII. Adult & Post-secondary Education
U.S. Bureau of the Census--educational attainment.
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
TN Higher Education Commission--post-secondary institution and enrollment data.
www.state.tn.us/thec
IX. Public School Systems (Total number of school systems is 136)
TN Department of Education--all data except fiscal capacity.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mdata.shtml
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--education fiscal capacity.
http://tn.gov/tacir/fiscalcapacity.html
Prepared by TACIR