Rhea County, Tennessee

County Distress Index: Elevated · 60.0 | 33,924 people · 42nd most distressed in Tennessee

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Rhea County, TN registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 60.0 — 827th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Tennessee, it ranks 42nd of 95 counties. Among its 5 neighboring counties, 3 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Rhea County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 75.3 — worse than roughly 75% of U.S. counties.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 75.3
Uninsured Rate 74
Disability Rate 77
Debt & Delinquency 73.5
Debt in Collections 71
Medical Debt 86
Student Loan Delinquency 76
Auto Loan Delinquency 38
Credit Card Delinquency 76
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 95
Income & Poverty 61.2
Poverty Rate 68
Income vs. State Median 49
Child Poverty Rate 67
Employment & Wages 53.4
Unemployment Rate 64
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 6
Business Formation Rate 90
Housing Cost Burden 36.5
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 23
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 43
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 28
Homeownership Rate 57
Rent-to-Income Ratio 31

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Rhea County compares to its 5 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Rhea County
Rhea County, TN 60.0 Elevated
Bledsoe County, TN 66.4 Serious +6.4
Meigs County, TN 61.3 Elevated +1.3
Cumberland County, TN 56.5 Elevated -3.5
Hamilton County, TN 51.7 Elevated -8.3
Roane County, TN 48.5 Normal -11.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Rhea County
Logan County, AR 60.0 Elevated -0.0
Assumption Parish, LA 60.0 Elevated -0.0
Simpson County, MS 60.0 Elevated -0.0
Lewis County, KY 59.9 Elevated -0.0
Grayson County, VA 59.9 Elevated -0.1

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