Rhea County, Tennessee Population 2024

34,159

Rhea County, Tennessee's estimated 2024 population is 34,159 with a growth rate of 0.69% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Rhea County, Tennessee is the 45th largest county in Tennessee. The 2010 population was 31,860 and has seen a growth of 7.22% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
202935,3342350.67%
202835,0992350.67%
202734,8642350.68%
202634,6292350.68%
202534,3942350.69%
202434,1592350.69%
202333,9242350.7%
202233,6895001.51%
202133,1892510.76%
202032,938-268-0.81%
201933,2062730.83%
201832,9332240.68%
201732,7091790.55%
201632,5301280.4%
201532,402-246-0.75%
201432,6481030.32%
201332,5451670.52%
201232,3782900.9%
201132,0882280.72%
201031,86000%
199024,3441090.45%
198024,2357,03340.88%
197017,2021,3398.44%
196015,863-178-1.11%
195016,041-312-1.91%
194016,3532,48217.89%
193013,871590.43%
192013,812-1,598-10.37%
191015,4101,0927.63%
190014,3181,67113.21%
189012,6475,57478.81%
18807,0731,53527.72%
18705,53854710.96%
18604,99157613.05%
18504,41543010.79%
18403,985-4,201-51.32%
18308,1863,97194.21%
18204,2151,71168.33%
18102,504-32,830-92.91%
2024 Growth Rate
0.69% (235)
County Website
Rhea County
County Seat
Dayton
2020 Population
32,938
Area
315 mi²
Density
108 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
3.71% (1,221)
Founded
1807

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White29,88390.47%
Two or more races1,4654.44%
Other race7702.33%
Black or African American5681.72%
Asian3120.94%
Native American330.1%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander00%

White

Two or more races

Other race

Black or African American

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Rhea County, Tennessee Population by Race

Rhea County, Tennessee Population Pyramid 2024

Rhea County, Tennessee Median Age

40.9

Total

39.4

Male

42.7

Female

Rhea County, Tennessee Adults

There are 25,772 adults, (6,259 of whom are seniors) in Rhea County, Tennessee.

Rhea County, Tennessee Age Dependency

69.3

Age Dependency Ratio

32.1

Old Age Dependency Ratio

37.2

Child Dependency Ratio

Rhea County, Tennessee Sex Ratio

Female16,34049.47%
Male16,69150.53%

Rhea County, Tennessee Population by Age

Rhea County, Tennessee Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All12,7442.5373.526.5
Married6,5412.9581.918.1
Non Family3,4321.2863.336.7
Female2,1363.0764.935.1
Male6353.217129

2.87

Average Family Size

2.53

Average Household Size

73.5%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Rhea County, Tennessee Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade2,72311.92%
Associates Degree1,3996.12%
Bachelors Degree2,66611.67%
Graduate Degree1,2415.43%
High School Graduate9,24140.45%
Less Than 9th Grade1,0884.76%
Some College4,48519.63%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Rhea County, Tennessee Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Rhea County, Tennessee Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White20,75417,5073,690
2+ Races82362452
Hispanic74042642
Black50347873
Other Race40427067
Asian1434711
Native American33110

The highest rate of high school graduation is among black people with a rate of 95.03%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 17.78%.

Rhea County, Tennessee Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$50,785$72,305$42,917
Graduate Degree$54,500$72,000$43,606
High School Graduate$36,294$42,647$28,835
Less Than 9th Grade$30,224$37,966$12,374
Overall$37,640$44,755$29,054
Some College$35,837$46,075$27,907

$37,640

Average Earnings

$44,755

Average Male

$29,054

Average Female

Rhea County, Tennessee Earnings by Educational Attainment

Rhea County, Tennessee Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Rhea County, Tennessee Language

95.69% of Rhea County, Tennessee residents speak only English, while 4.31% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 3.73% of the population.

Rhea County, Tennessee Language

Rhea County, Tennessee Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White28,3123,88213.71%
Multiple1,44463143.7%
Hispanic1,79032318.04%
Black52923043.48%
Native33618.18%

15.71%

Overall Poverty Rate

13.62%

Male Poverty Rate

17.83%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Rhea County, Tennessee

The race most likely to be in poverty in Rhea County, Tennessee is Multiple, with 43.7% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Rhea County, Tennessee is White, with 13.71% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.61%. Among those working part-time, it was 16.64%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 22.49%.

Rhea County, Tennessee Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade33.99%
Some College10.23%
High School9.66%
Bachelors or Greater5.36%

Rhea County, Tennessee Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Male Unemployed35.7%
Female Unemployed34.98%
Female Employed5.5%
Male Employed4.9%

Rhea County, Tennessee Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Rhea County, Tennessee Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$60,674$76,194
Households$55,568$70,017
Married Families$73,240$-999,999,999
Non Families$30,846$48,265

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Rhea County, Tennessee Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

52.4%

Overall Marriage Rate

52.8%

Male Marriage Rate

51.9%

Female Marriage Rate

Rhea County, Tennessee Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Rhea County, Tennessee Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 55-64, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Rhea County, Tennessee Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Rhea County, Tennessee Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

2,386

Number of Veterans

2,319

Male Veterans

67

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam906
Second Gulf War662
First Gulf War657
Korea85
World War II17

Rhea County, Tennessee Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
35 to 54670
65 to 74524
75+507
55 to 64412
18 to 34273

Rhea County, Tennessee Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White2,1178.98%
2+ Races13815%
Black9216.2%
Other Race398.14%
Hispanic171.57%

Rhea County, Tennessee Veterans by Race

Rhea County, Tennessee Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

4.68%

Veteran Poverty Rate

28.96%

Veteran Disability Rate

Rhea County, Tennessee Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

52.8%

Labor Force Participation

48.6%

Employment Rate

7.9%

Unemployment Rate

Rhea County, Tennessee Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Rhea County, Tennessee Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Rhea County, Tennessee Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

67.32%

Born in Rhea County, Tennessee

97.41%

Native Born

2.59%

Foreign Born

1.9%

Non Citizen

0.69%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

97.41% of Rhea County, Tennessee residents were born in the United States, with 67.32% having been born in Tennessee. 1.9% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Rhea County, Tennessee Place of Birth

Sources