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Tennessee

A silhouette of the state of Tennessee

Basic Statistics

Tennessee has a population of 6,910,840, of which 77.9% of the population is aged 18+ (U.S. Census, 2021)

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52 of Tennessee's 95 counties lie within the Appalachian Region

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Tennessee has the 8th highest poverty rate in the United States, with 27.1% of residents earning less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level

Looking for More Data?

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Check out APPLI's Infographics database for state- and county-level data and downloadable graphics.

Literacy
A silhouette of the state of Tennessee with five human-shaped figures inside; three are white and two are grey. Text reading, "3 in 5 Tennessee adults read below an 8th Grade level"

Literacy in Tennessee

A vertical bar with a green segment reading 40.4%, a yellow segment reading 37.9%, and a red segment reading 21.7%

21.7% of Tennessee adults read below a 3rd Grade level

37.9% of Tennessee adults read between a 3rd and 8th Grade level

40.4% of Tennessee adults are proficient in reading texts above an 8th Grade level

Numeracy
A silhouette of the state of Tennessee with five human-shaped figures inside; three-and-a-half are white and one-and-a-half are black. Text reading, "Nearly 4 in 5 Tennessee adults struggle to perform basic math"

Numeracy in Tennessee

34% of Tennessee adults struggle to perform math problems that require more than 1 step

35.5% of Tennessee adults struggle to perform math problems that require more than 3 steps

30.5% of Tennessee adults are proficient in math taught above an 8th Grade level

A vertical bar with a green segment reading 30.5%, a yellow segment reading 35.5%, and a red segment reading 34%
County Data
A heatmap fo the state of Tennessee
A temperature bar with the lower range represented by the color green and the upper range represented by the color red. The lower range is 48.9%, the middle range is 69.3%, and the upper range is 78.3%

Literacy by County

In Tennessee's 52 Appalachian counties, more than 2 of every 3 adults read below an 8th Grade level

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Nearly 1 in 5 adults has not graduated from high school

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Nearly 1 in 3 residents earns below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level

A heatmap of the state of Tennessee
A temperature bar with a lower range of 58.7%, a middle range of 79.3%, and an upper range of 88.8%

Numeracy by County

In Tennessee's 52 Appalachian counties, more than 3 out of every 4 adults struggle to perform basic math

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Nearly 1 in 5 residents relies on SNAP for Nutrition Assistance
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11.3% of residents lack health insurance

Resources

Tennessee Adult Education Resources

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