County profile

Union County

Tennessee · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
20,431
Median household income
$62,727
People below poverty
13.8%
Median home value
$204,000

Income

The median income of households in Union County, Tennessee was $62,727. An estimated 4.6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 4.3% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.6
$10,000 to $14,999 4.3
$15,000 to $24,999 12.4
$25,000 to $34,999 8.2
$35,000 to $49,999 13.1
$50,000 to $74,999 16.1
$75,000 to $99,999 15.5
$100,000 to $149,999 14.6
$150,000 to $199,999 7.1
$200,000 or more 4.3

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 48920
Female 44280

An estimated 69.2% of households received earnings. An estimated 44.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 26.6 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,323. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 69.2
Social Security 44.2
Retirement income 26.6
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 6.8
Cash public assistance income 1.6

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 13.8 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 15.6% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 12.1% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.7% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 13.8
Children under 18 years below poverty 15.6
People 65 years old and over below poverty 12.1
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.7

In 2020-2024, 14.8 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 44.1% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 38.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 19.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024, 91.9% had health insurance coverage and 8.1% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 59.3% and public coverage was 44.5%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.4%.


In 2020-2024, Union County, Tennessee had a total population of 20,431 - 10,168 (49.8%) females and 10,263 (50.2%) males. The median age was 42.7 years. An estimated 21.3% of the population was under 18 years, 29.4% was 19 to 44 years, 28.7% was 45 to 64 years, and 18.8 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 555 510
5 to 9 564 500
10 to 14 625 744
15 to 19 656 573
20 to 24 632 472
25 to 29 598 572
30 to 34 618 613
35 to 39 620 803
40 to 44 637 423
45 to 49 656 629
50 to 54 672 714
55 to 59 799 613
60 to 64 811 973
65 to 69 693 656
70 to 74 525 543
75 to 79 273 410
80 to 84 269 225
85 and over 60 195

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 94.6% were White; 0.3% were Black or African American; 18.4% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.1% were Asian; 0.1% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 4.6% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 2.4% of the people in Union County, Tennessee were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 94% of the people in Union County, Tennessee were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 7,931 households in Union County, Tennessee. The average household size was 2.56 people.

Married-couple households made up 62.1% of the households in Union County, Tennessee while cohabiting couple households made up 5.8% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 18.9% of all households, while 13.2% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 10.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 10.2% were female householders living alone, for a total of 20.7% of all households.

In Union County, Tennessee, 30.8% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.9% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 62.1
Cohabiting Couples 5.8
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
13.2
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
18.9

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 59.9% of males and 60.6% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 25.6 15.6
Now married, except separated 59.9 60.6
Separated 1.7 1
Widowed 2.5 11
Divorced 10.2 11.8

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Union County, Tennessee, 776 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 63.5% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 99.5% of the people living in Union County, Tennessee were U.S. natives. 73.1% of the Union County, Tennessee population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 0.5% of Union County, Tennessee residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 86.7% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 100 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Union County, Tennessee come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Union County, Tennessee.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 59
Asia 4.8
Europe 36.2
Africa 0
Northern America 0
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024, 2 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 1.5% of people at least five years old; 0.3% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 1.5
Other Indo-European languages 0.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0.1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 93.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Union County, Tennessee were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 93.2
Different house, same county 2.5
Different county, same state 3.3
Different state 1
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 85.9 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 14.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 14% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Union County, Tennessee was 4,138 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 155 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 3,306. College or graduate school enrollment was 677.

Educational Attainment of People in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 14
High school diploma or equivalency 46.3
Some college, no degree 17.4
Associate's degree 8
Bachelor's degree 9.2
Graduate or professional degree 5

Disability

In Union County, Tennessee, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 21.6 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 8% of people under 18 years old, to 18.2% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 48% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Union County, Tennessee, 53.8 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 44.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.7% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 15.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 7,001 78.7
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,371 15.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 521 5.9

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Union County, Tennessee worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.9
Construction 16.3
Manufacturing 9.7
Wholesale trade 2.1
Retail trade 9.8
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7.8
Information 1.3
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 13.1
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 21.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5.8
Other Services, except public administration 5.6
Public administration 1.8

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 2,699 30.3
Service occupations 1,281 14.4
Sales and office occupations 1,643 18.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,411 15.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 1,859 20.9

Commuting to Work

An estimated 74.1% of Union County, Tennessee workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 9.7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 34.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 74.1
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 9.7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 1.4
Walked 2.9
Other means 0.4
Worked from home 11.5

In 2020-2024, Union County, Tennessee had a total of 9,831 housing units. Of these housing units, 74% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 3.7% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 21.8% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 74
Apartments in multi-unit structures 3.7
Mobile homes 21.8
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.5

12.6% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 7.2% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Union County, Tennessee was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 68.1% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Union County, Tennessee had 7,931 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,900 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 80.2% while renters occupied 19.8%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.49 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.81.

3.2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 11.9% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 2.9% and another 37.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Union County, Tennessee:

House Heating Fuel Used in Union County, Tennessee in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 6.3
Electricity 87.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.3
All other fuels 5.7
No fuel used 0.1

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Union County, Tennessee was $204,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 51.5 % had a mortgage. 48.5% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,179 and for owners without a mortgage it was $373.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Union County, Tennessee was $847. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.