Sweetwater, Tennessee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sweetwater is a city in Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Caverns which contains The Lost Sea, the United States' largest underground lake.

[edit] Geography

Sweetwater is located at 35°36′9″N, 84°28′1″W (35.602604, -84.466992)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.9 km² (6.9 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,586 people, 2,315 households, and 1,537 families residing in the city. The population density was 312.6/km² (810.1/mi²). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 140.5/km² (364.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.72% White, 7.32% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population.

There were 2,315 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,323, and the median income for a family was $35,269. Males had a median income of $29,982 versus $23,075 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,746. About 11.5% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.