State food-access profile · 95 counties

Food access in Tennessee

How far Tennessee residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

27.2%
low-access pop.: 266
food-desert tracts: 10.8%
on SNAP: 95
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.7M Tennessee residents - 27.2% - live in a low-access area, and 266 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.7M
low-access residents: 563K
food-desert residents: 5.2%
households, no vehicle: 13.8%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Tennessee stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Tennessee is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Tennessee against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 95 counties and 7.1M residents, Tennessee's population-weighted low-access share is 27.2%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 266 tracts in Tennessee, home to roughly 563K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 10.8% of households, and 5.2% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

27.2%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

1.7M

Low-access residents

10.8%

Avg. SNAP

Carter

47
Montgomery

47
Hamilton

43.9
Williamson

43.9
Hamblen

42.7
Sequatchie

42.1
Putnam

41.4
Knox

41.2

All counties in Tennessee

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Carter County	57K	47.0%	14.3%	4.6%	17.1%
Montgomery County	234K	47.0%	8.1%	3.8%	11.3%
Hamilton County	376K	43.9%	9.4%	5.8%	13.1%
Williamson County	260K	43.9%	1.9%	2.1%	4.6%
Hamblen County	66K	42.7%	14.0%	4.9%	18.4%
Sequatchie County	17K	42.1%	16.5%	4.4%	21.9%
Putnam County	83K	41.4%	9.3%	3.8%	18.4%
Knox County	494K	41.2%	8.9%	5.3%	12.2%
Wilson County	159K	35.3%	5.3%	2.2%	8.0%
Lewis County	13K	34.6%	18.7%	2.5%	16.7%
Sumner County	204K	33.8%	6.1%	3.3%	8.8%
Madison County	99K	33.5%	16.3%	8.9%	18.2%
Bradley County	111K	32.9%	11.7%	5.3%	12.7%
Shelby County	919K	32.8%	15.5%	8.2%	17.8%
Sullivan County	161K	30.7%	13.1%	4.8%	15.4%
Blount County	139K	30.1%	5.9%	2.7%	8.4%
White County	28K	29.1%	13.0%	3.8%	13.2%
Greene County	72K	28.6%	11.7%	5.3%	15.4%
Dyer County	37K	27.5%	15.8%	6.7%	16.3%
Cumberland County	64K	26.9%	11.3%	4.9%	14.4%
Davidson County	715K	26.6%	8.3%	6.5%	13.9%
Washington County	136K	26.2%	8.6%	5.2%	15.5%
Maury County	108K	25.6%	6.3%	2.8%	9.8%
Haywood County	17K	25.4%	24.7%	11.3%	21.5%
Perry County	9K	24.6%	13.3%	4.2%	18.1%
Wayne County	16K	24.4%	17.0%	8.2%	20.0%
McNairy County	26K	24.1%	15.2%	4.6%	16.5%
Henry County	32K	23.1%	13.1%	5.6%	18.3%
Bedford County	52K	23.0%	10.2%	3.0%	12.6%
Marshall County	36K	22.6%	6.6%	3.2%	11.8%
Rutherford County	361K	22.4%	7.0%	2.7%	9.3%
Humphreys County	19K	22.3%	11.5%	3.8%	14.8%
Cocke County	37K	21.9%	18.8%	4.4%	21.9%
Gibson County	51K	21.5%	16.5%	6.6%	13.7%
Sevier County	100K	21.5%	7.2%	4.1%	13.5%
Rhea County	34K	21.2%	17.0%	7.0%	15.9%
Scott County	22K	20.5%	22.5%	5.3%	23.1%
Roane County	55K	20.3%	13.1%	5.9%	12.0%
Weakley County	33K	19.4%	14.0%	5.5%	19.0%
Franklin County	44K	19.1%	8.3%	4.1%	12.0%
Hardin County	27K	19.0%	14.9%	5.4%	21.5%
Fayette County	43K	16.9%	9.7%	5.3%	10.3%
Hawkins County	58K	16.8%	12.9%	4.3%	15.2%
Jefferson County	57K	16.8%	10.8%	2.8%	11.4%
Stewart County	14K	15.8%	11.1%	4.8%	16.4%
DeKalb County	21K	14.6%	13.2%	7.0%	18.6%
Crockett County	14K	14.5%	13.5%	7.2%	14.5%
McMinn County	55K	14.5%	13.5%	4.2%	13.0%
Loudon County	59K	14.2%	6.4%	3.8%	12.6%
Macon County	26K	14.0%	17.7%	4.9%	17.2%
Monroe County	48K	14.0%	15.5%	5.5%	15.5%
Campbell County	40K	13.8%	18.5%	5.7%	18.5%
Coffee County	60K	13.7%	11.7%	4.2%	17.4%
Morgan County	21K	12.8%	14.4%	5.1%	15.1%
Benton County	16K	12.6%	15.8%	5.4%	17.8%
Hardeman County	25K	12.5%	19.3%	7.6%	19.0%
Dickson County	56K	12.2%	9.3%	2.9%	10.9%
Giles County	31K	12.0%	11.4%	5.2%	12.8%
Chester County	18K	11.4%	13.3%	3.1%	16.1%
Anderson County	79K	10.9%	11.9%	5.6%	13.4%
Marion County	29K	10.9%	14.6%	4.2%	16.3%
Lincoln County	36K	10.2%	8.6%	3.9%	12.9%
Hickman County	25K	9.8%	10.1%	2.8%	10.6%
Warren County	42K	9.6%	15.0%	4.5%	15.7%
Carroll County	29K	9.4%	12.5%	5.5%	17.0%
Robertson County	76K	9.4%	7.4%	3.3%	10.4%
Claiborne County	32K	8.4%	14.8%	4.0%	17.4%
Johnson County	18K	8.2%	15.1%	4.3%	21.4%
Cheatham County	42K	7.6%	5.9%	2.0%	7.7%
Grundy County	14K	6.9%	16.8%	4.5%	18.9%
Obion County	30K	6.8%	15.6%	5.9%	18.6%
Decatur County	12K	6.2%	17.2%	5.7%	22.1%
Lauderdale County	25K	5.9%	22.7%	9.1%	21.0%
Bledsoe County	15K	4.7%	18.1%	5.1%	20.7%
Henderson County	28K	4.1%	16.5%	4.5%	16.9%
Tipton County	62K	4.1%	12.4%	5.2%	13.6%
Polk County	18K	4.0%	14.0%	4.6%	13.9%
Unicoi County	18K	3.7%	13.6%	4.0%	14.3%
Lawrence County	45K	3.5%	14.1%	7.6%	15.0%
Smith County	20K	3.3%	9.8%	3.9%	10.0%
Meigs County	13K	3.2%	15.8%	2.8%	14.3%
Cannon County	15K	2.3%	10.4%	4.6%	18.3%
Houston County	8K	1.9%	15.4%	2.7%	11.1%
Union County	20K	1.9%	14.8%	2.9%	13.8%
Van Buren County	6K	1.9%	18.6%	8.1%	16.1%
Hancock County	7K	1.1%	34.8%	11.8%	32.2%
Pickett County	5K	0.8%	17.4%	5.4%	23.9%
Overton County	23K	0.4%	11.8%	3.4%	16.3%
Fentress County	19K	0.3%	22.5%	5.2%	21.0%
Clay County	8K	0.2%	25.2%	6.7%	24.2%
Lake County	7K	0.2%	31.8%	18.3%	32.2%
Jackson County	12K	0.1%	15.8%	6.1%	20.3%
Moore County	7K	0.1%	6.7%	5.1%	8.0%
Grainger County	24K	0.0%	14.0%	5.0%	17.1%
Trousdale County	12K	0.0%	10.9%	4.2%	11.9%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

27.2% of Tennessee residents, about 1.7M people, live in a low-access area.
266 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 563K low-income, low-access residents.
10.8% of households receive SNAP, and 5.2% have no vehicle.
Carter County has the state's highest low-access share at 47.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Tennessee has low food access?▼

27.2% of Tennessee residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Tennessee?▼

266 census tracts in Tennessee are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 563K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Tennessee?▼

Across Tennessee counties, an average of 10.8% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Tennessee has the worst food access?▼

Carter County has the highest low-access share in Tennessee at 47.0%, with 14.3% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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