Unemployment in Blount County, Tennessee, is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties
In Blount County, 3.0% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blount County's score
In Blount County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 58.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 22.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blount County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Blount County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.5% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.5 · 202561st percentile
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- 53.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.1% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
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- 28.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,132 · 202423rd percentile
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- 22.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.8% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Blount County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Blount County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blount County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Blount County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 17.5% in 2004 to 23.2% in 2009.
In Blount County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Blount County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Blount County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 5.9%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 8.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Blount County, Tennessee.
How Blount County has changed
Blount County's population had its largest rise, from 85,053 in 1989 to 95,003 in 1994.
Blount County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 142,211, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 126,263. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blount County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Blount County more than doubled to 57,169, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 57,169. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blount County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,043 | 2024 $78,132 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Blount County's history
1996
Lightning in July 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Lightning in May 1999 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $3.64 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in February 2019 did $2.75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 135,280, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blount County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blount County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Blount County, in Tennessee and North Carolina, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Blount County ranks 6th of the seven; Graham County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham County, NC | 77 | 16.4% | 38.7% |
| Monroe County, TN | 75 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| Swain County, NC | 63 | 15.6% | 38.0% |
| Sevier County, TN | 55 | 13.2% | 22.1% |
| Knox County, TN | 44 | 12.8% | 16.6% |
| Blount County, TN | 33 | 9.2% | 21.7% |
| Loudon County, TN | 29 | 9.0% | 23.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Blount County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Blount County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 86th highest of 95 in Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lake County, at 31.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Blount County ranks 90th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blount County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Aid of East Tennessee
Legal aid
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Tennessee Justice Center
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Blount County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Blount County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.