Union County, Tennessee

County Distress Index: Elevated · 61.6 | 20,741 people · 35th most distressed in Tennessee

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Union County, TN registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 61.6 — 709th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where unemployment is elevated, wages are low relative to housing costs, and business formation lags. Within Tennessee, it ranks 35th 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. Union County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 74.5 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 74.5
Unemployment Rate 38
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 93
Business Formation Rate 93
Debt & Delinquency 71.1
Debt in Collections 72
Medical Debt 91
Student Loan Delinquency 74
Auto Loan Delinquency 38
Credit Card Delinquency 65
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 87
Community Vulnerability 69.5
Uninsured Rate 51
Disability Rate 88
Income & Poverty 56.1
Poverty Rate 67
Income vs. State Median 26
Child Poverty Rate 75
Housing Cost Burden 37.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 13
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 12
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 53
Homeownership Rate 17
Rent-to-Income Ratio 90

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Union County
Union County, TN 61.6 Elevated
Campbell County, TN 70.9 Serious +9.3
Claiborne County, TN 65.6 Serious +4.0
Anderson County, TN 57.3 Elevated -4.3
Grainger County, TN 54.8 Elevated -6.9
Knox County, TN 46.5 Normal -15.2

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Union County
Lunenburg County, VA 61.6 Elevated -0.0
Butts County, GA 61.6 Elevated +0.0
Arkansas County, AR 61.6 Elevated -0.0
Wasco County, OR 61.6 Elevated -0.0
Labette County, KS 61.7 Elevated +0.1

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