Etowah, Tennessee

Population

Growing. Up 5.1% since 2020.

3,786

people, the 125th-largest of Tennessee's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Tennessee's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

88.0%

of 1,279 jobs located in Etowah are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 61% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$741

a month. Tennessee's median is $1,189.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $661 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in McMinn County.

• $714 Tract 9708.02
• $1,375 Tract 9704.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$739–$1,109

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $741 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 15 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 85% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–0.7% to the 1,895 homes here.

4–13

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 33% less than Tennessee's.

$190,800

median home value in Etowah.

• $190,800 Etowah
• $286,700 Tennessee
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year