Grainger County, Tennessee

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Grainger County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1796
Seat	Rutledge
Largest city	Bean Station
Area - Total - Land - Water	302 sq mi (783 km²) 280 sq mi (726 km²) 22 sq mi (57 km²), 7.31%
Population - (2000) - Density	20,659 74/sq mi (28/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Grainger County Courthouse in Rutledge

Grainger County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee known for its tomatoes. Together with Hamblen and Jefferson counties, it is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area which is, as of December 2005, considered a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area.[1] As of 2000, the population was 20,659. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 22,283 [2]. Its county seat is Rutledge^[1].

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent counties
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Grainger County is bounded on the northwest by the Clinch River (impounded by Norris Dam to form Norris Lake) and on the southeast by the Holston River (including Cherokee Lake). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 302 square miles (783 km²), of which, 280 square miles (726 km²) of it is land and 22 square miles (57 km²) of it (7.31%) is water. Clinch Mountain is a major geographic feature that effectively separates the county into a southern section (including Rutledge) and a northern section (including Washburn).

[edit] Adjacent counties

Hancock County and Hawkins County (northeast)
Hamblen County (east)
Jefferson County (south)
Knox County (southwest)
Union County (west)
Claiborne County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

Age pyramid Grainger County^[2]

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 20,659 people, 8,270 households, and 6,161 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile (28/km²). There were 9,732 housing units at an average density of 35 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.41% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,270 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,997, and the median income for a family was $33,347. Males had a median income of $25,781 versus $19,410 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,505. About 15.10% of families and 18.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 26.00% of those age 65 or over.